


Hoodlum Tragedies

by Mocurlyshepard



Series: The Shepard Trials and Tribulations [2]
Category: Rumble Fish - S. E. Hinton, Tex - S. E. Hinton, That was Then This is Now - S. E. Hinton, The Outsiders - S. E. Hinton
Genre: 1960s, Attraction, Biblical References, Black Character(s), Chicano Character, Drug Addiction, Drug Use, Drugs, F/F, F/M, Forbidden Love, Gen, Loss of Virginity, M/M, Mexican Character, Minority, Sex, Swearing, The Outsiders, Underage Smoking, Virginity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-10
Updated: 2018-08-10
Packaged: 2019-06-25 14:53:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 25
Words: 52,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15643032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mocurlyshepard/pseuds/Mocurlyshepard
Summary: "Things are rough all over." the story of a half white half chicano, Curly Shepard trying to survive with the threats of gangs, drugs, and murder.





	1. T H E S U N R I S E S

There wasn't a thing called sleep in the Shepard home. Whether it was Tim and Angela going at it because of her clothing choice and where had she been all night or Ma and her boyfriend engaging in a contest over who could scream the loudest. Getting sleep passed 8:00 a.m. was pretty much nonexistent.

Curly attempted to block out the sound by pulling his heavy blanket over his head but the screams still triumphed and disturbed his sleep.

He groaned and threw the old blanket off of him. He always thought the blanket was older than him, when he was a kid and his step dad would be beating him, he'd hold the blanket and come up with a story behind it. His favorite was that his Abuela made it for him as a baby out of love. However, that was far from being true, especially because his Abuela had killed herself before he was even born.

Curly staggered to his dresser and pulled out a clean pair of jeans and a white t shirt. His outfits seemed to be repeats of the previous day, but that was to be expected when you didn't have a lot of money. At least his shirts were cleaned and bleached weekly. Laundry was the only thing Curly considered himself to be good at when it came to domestics.

He felt like shit. He was up late the previous night joking and hanging with Los Tio's. The night started young, discussing what the next move was for the Shepard Gang but quickly progressed to other events, like drinking beer after beer. Curly had to remind himself not to drink on weekdays.

Curly threw his jeans on over his boxers and then the clean white t shirt, adding his socks and sliding into a new pair of Chuck Taylor's. He had lifted them from a shopping complex a few days before, thinking about it seemed to boost his mood.

He washed his face and brushed his teeth before passing Angela in the kitchen. She sat quietly drinking a glass of water, her eyes following him around the kitchen.

Curly was close with Angela, they ought to be because they were twins. It was something not a lot of people knew, despite the fact that they looked alike, they always assumed Curly was younger.

"The stash is under Tims bed." Angela says to Curly.

Tim brought separate food for his siblings and his them under his bed so his drunk mother couldn't get her hands on it. The hag didn't have a job but she'd be quick to take something that wasn't hers.

Curly didn't reply. Instead he grabbed his old leather jacket and threw it on his shoulders, then lit a cigarette and walking over towards the door.

"Well good morning to you too, pendejo." Angela growled.

That was terms of affection for a Shepard. He didn't mind it much, he knew that they'd probably go to a party together before the week was out, forgetting the fact that they almost killed each other. That's just how they were.

Curly walked out into the morning streets of Tulsa. A lot of teenagers were up because like Curly, they had similar situations with arguing parents.

"Hey! Ese, C'mere!"

Curly took a slow puff on his cigarette as he saw Jimmy jogging towards him. Jimmy had been his best friend, ever since Curly started elementary school, he was about two years older than Curly so they got initiated around the same time.

Jimmy Russo was cool, sly, and a loyal follower. He had the best home life out of them all, but only because he was the only child. He was raised by his mother and occasionally saw his father in New York. His mother was a hardworking waitress at a neighborhood on the west side and his father was a failed cowboy who moved to New York.

"What's hanging, Jim?" Curly asked once he caught up with him.

"Nothing, cooling, man. Wanna get something to eat down at the juke? I'm starving." Jimmy complained while rubbing his stomach.

Curly could remember the days where his mom would be too drunk and forget to feed them. Tim would give them whatever he could find, it was usually crackers and sauce. He could remember yelling and throwing fits because he didn't want it and Tim would have to grab him and tell him it was all they had.

The two hoods walked to the local juke joint. It was somewhere in the middle of the neighborhood where everyone hung out, but mostly dirt poor Italians, blacks, and chicanos. Everyone usually got along okay, they were all hated in the eyes of society. Shepards were good for communicating with everyone.

Curly listened to Jimmy go on and on about some broad he met at a party and how his girlfriend found out. Jimmy had somehow managed to date Kathy Phelan. She was an average greaser girl and surprisingly put up with Jimmy's mess.

"Y'know her, that puta with the last name..uh Miller."

Curly slid into the booth on the side of the juke joint. There wasn't many kids here except for the after church kids who liked to get milkshakes.

Curly couldn't help but chuckle. Jimmy was nowhere near being chicano. He was white as day, maybe spoke a little Italian from picking it up off the streets in New York. As long as him and Curly had been friends, he'd pick up on his slang.

"Yeah I know her, her brother owes me money. I should kick his ass." Curly says.

Curlys eyes traveled over the juke. He didn't come to this one often but when he did he came for the shakes. They were legendary.

He listened to Jimmy talk about how Christopher just got out of jail. Curly didn't care much, he didn't know much about Christopher anyway, he couldn't stand to be around him for more than five minutes.

Instead, his eyes were fixed on the girl standing at the jukebox. She had a little kid with her who looked to be about 11 or 12, probably her little brother. They looked at the jukebox together and talked lightly to each other.

Something about her really made her seem beautiful. And although Curly thought lots of girls were pretty, she really was different. She had dark tanned skin, long shiny black hair that ran down her shoulders. A small, petite girl, yet curvy female. That wasn't in anymore, at least not in his school. Her legs were exposed in a little skirt that she tried tugging down a few times, they were smooth and pretty.

"Who is she?" Curly asked Jimmy.

"Some girl from Brumleys side of town." Jimmy said while shrugging. "A looker though."

She sighed as she toyed with the juke box, it looked broken. She finally gave up, smacking the box lightly and guiding her brother out the door of the joint. He was wondering why he hadn't seen her before, he usually knew everyone around town.

"Curly that's the kid who owes you money." Jimmy said while looking out the window.

Just by the way he walked made Curly on edge. He fucked over a Shepard and that was one of the worse things you could do. Curly sat up and threw a dollar down for his drink and walked outside.

Jimmy followed close behind, it was better to be safe in case Curly needed backup. Curly was good fighter, one of the best in the neighborhood and he was known for being swift. As far as he knew, Miller didn't belong to any gang.

"Hey Miller," Curly yelled. "Let's talk!"

Curly's legs were long enough to catch up. Miller tried to outrun Curly but he didn't know the streets quite as well as he did. Curly could walk these streets in his sleep, he could remember running and hiding from police officers.

Curly managed to get him where he wanted him, which was a dead end. He didn't plan on doing anything too bad, maybe scare him a bit. He was usually lenient with people who owed him things but the way Miller was flaunting around new Levi's, Curly knew for sure he had enough money to pay him back.

"You owe me money, maricon." Curly said with an icy tone.

The kid look around at Curly and Jimmy. He looked to be weighing his options but there wasn't much he could do. If he was quick he could get passed them and jump over the fence but Jimmy had that guarded.

"Hey look Curly, I said I was sorry, yeah? I'll get you the money next week."

Curly chuckled some and shook his head while he looked at Miller. Tim would be pissed if he didn't get his money back because his profit went to his Tio's. They were the ones who set Tim up to get things running so it was only fair to give them 45%, the remaining went to bills and food, and even that wasn't enough to take care of them.

"Look, just take it like a man alright. Don't act like no bitch. Give me the money and I'll let you off."

"Fuck you, stupid ass spic." Miller said and hacked up a big spit ball and shot it at Curly's shoe.

Curly clenched his jaw and tried to keep from exploding. He was cool with both sides, whites and Chicanos. Both of them accepted him because they were all poor. The only kids who gave him trouble were middle class. Curly hated doing business with them, they always made it even more complicated.

"Grab em, Jimmy." Jimmy got rid of his cigarette and held Millers arms behind his back.

Curly walked closer to him and patted Miller down. There wasn't much money, maybe five dollars, but he did find a nice class ring with jewels on the side that he could pawn.

"Thanks kid for your donation." Curly chuckled sarcastically.

Curly shoved the loot in his pocket and cracked his knuckles before throwing a punch to Miller's face and then another to his ribs.

He threw a few more jabs until he saw Miller's eyes getting heavier and his groans getting lighter. Curly nodded for Jimmy to let him go and he fell to the ground while holding his sides.

Curly shook his head as he looked at the spit on his shoe and kicked Miller in the stomach for good measure. Miller held his ribs and muttered to himself. Curly turned around and looked at Jimmy, quickly lighting up a cigarette.

"Fucking hate middle class," Curly groaned.


	2. S I N L E S S

Bonnie Bakers birthday bash was the hottest party of the year. She managed to get the party swinging with grass, alcohol, and hot greaser girls. Curly went to the bash every year and drank until he couldn't remember his name, except this year, because his brother was chewing him out. It was going on three hours since Tim had seen Curly riding in the car with Jose, and he hadn't shut up since.

Seeing Jose had been banned in the Shepard Household, but no one had an actual legitimate reason on why. The whole family kept their distance from Tio Jose. It wasn't so hard to stay away from him, from what Curly could remember, he had been in prison most of his childhood and when he was out of prison he stayed a few towns over.

"Charles, you listening?" Tim asked.

Curly nodded and stared at the funny looking tattoo on his hand. It rested between his thumb and index finger. It was the official branding from the Shepard Gang, in other words, your mark that said you belonged to them. Curly could still remember the day he got initiated into the Shepard Gang, how ironic being that his brother was the founder. He still had to fight his way in just like everyone else. His eye was swollen shut for days and his bones didn't quite heal right, the memory would forever be burned into his brain.

"Yeah, si." Curly rushed out.

Curly's eyes turned to look at Tim's cold ones. He could never decide if Tim's eyes said they were regretful, disappointed, or angry with Curly. Maybe it was just all three. He felt kid of bad for being a menace and never doing the right thing, because there was a time when they actually got along. But once Curly turned sixteen, all the love for each other fell down a drain and they were always at each other's necks.

"Jose will fuck you over, entiendes? He ain't a good character. He'll get you into shit you ain't ready for."

Curly nodded slowly, he hoped to manipulate his way out of the conversation. Angela managed to do it all the time, blink her long eyelashes at Tim, flash her best puppy dog face and say "please" in the sweetest voice. There wasn't any way Tim would let Curly get away with it, he had to hear the whole lecture until he was tired of hearing his own self talking.

"You're only 16. Stop trying to grow up so fast."

The old paint chipping on the wall was far more interesting to look at than Tim's raging eyes. All he could see when he looked at Tim was the regret, anger, and disappointment. He know he was a fuck up but he hated being reminded that he was. It wasn't like he could help it much, not when he didn't have any real guidance.

Tim shook his head at Curly one last time and disappeared into his room. The look made Curly want to sink into the church pews and pray for forgiveness. He hated the way Tim could make him feel, and it just could be a look he gave him and he felt shitty. So much for a big brother bringing out the best in you.

Curly got up from the old lumpy couch and walked out the door, skipping over the raggedy steps and walked around town. He didn't have a destination in mind, he was sort of hoping that trouble would find him, just so he could have something to do and not have to worry about Tim's cold stares. But with his luck, trouble always found him when he didn't want it. How ironic.

He found himself outside the downtown Diner called Susie's. The owner was an aging Italian who didn't mind being the greaser hangout. He secretly waited for rumbles because he got the most business afterward. Pancakes and slushees made for a great meal after a good fight. At least for the Shepard Gang it did.

The wind blew around Curly, there was a slight chill to it surprisingly because it was still the beginning of September. There was a time Curly embraced the cold because lord knows that Tulsa could get hotter than Hades. But that was ages ago and his mind went sour after he lived in New Jersey for a few months and experienced their winter without any heat.

"Curly?"

Ponyboy Curtis had walked up behind Curly. Curly slightly grinned to himself once he caught sight of Ponyboy. He had been one of his best friends, a buddy he had known all his life and they basically grew up with each other. Their friendship couldn't be explained but Curly suspected it was because they balanced each other out like fire and ice.

"Ponyboy Curtis." Curly said slowly.

Ponyboy leaned against the window where Curly was standing. He could remember this was the same kid he chased around with worms and spiders because Ponyboy was so squeamish.

"What's hanging?" Ponyboy asked. "I'm surprised you ain't at Bonnie Bakers party."

Curly shrugged and sucked again on his cigarette before dropping it and stomping it out. He had quickly gotten over the fact that he wasn't going and he already had a story for why. The guys wouldn't question it because they knew better to do so.

"Naw, I got caught up." He told him.

"Wasn't really swinging anything. The girls seem to be having a good time, though."

Curly thought of chicks who were probably there and which chicks he probably would've hooked up with if he showed his face. Maybe it was better that he didn't go, girls always had some strange attachment after hooking up and he spent weeks getting rid of them. He figured Angela was there, her friends probably would've dragged her along, not that she would put up much of a fight. Angela wasn't one to turn down booze.

"Angel there?"

"Yeah, along with Connie Winston, Sylvia, and Kathy."

"Connie's back?" Curly questioned.

Curly could remember the bleached blonde haired Connie Winston. She had been a fling, a terrible one at that. Memories fled into his memory of constant arguing between the two until they both decided to end it. Not that it would ever last long, she never stayed a few months in Tulsa before skipping out anyway. She was just like her brother, selfish and a person who couldn't be trusted.

"She's been back for a while. Angie hasnt brought her over?"

Curly cringed at Ponyboys affection for Angela. He had an unspoken sweet spot for the girl and he never knew had nothing in common, Ponyboy was quiet and nerdy, Angela was a trouble maker. They never fooled around and Curly always knew it was out of respect for him. Maybe that's why he liked Ponyboy so much.

"Naw, and she'd better not. Connie Winston is nothing but trouble, just like her sorry ass brother."

Curly peaked into the diner window to catch a look inside. Not many kids were sitting around because they were probably at the Birthday Bash. He didnt mind much and he knew Ponyboy didn't either, he liked the quiet.

"I'm heading in.. Coming, Curtis?"

Ponyboy nodded and followed after Curly in the diner. They slid in at a table in the middle of the floor. That way, the could see the dancing and who was there. Curly ordered a slushee, he had lost his appetite earlier in the day once Tim dragged him from Tio Jose's souped up car.

"Whatever happened to you and Connie anyway?" Ponyboy asked.

Ponyboy wasn't Ponyboy without his curiosity. Curly couldn't pick if he liked it or hated it.

"Connie was just a fling, Curtis. I never really had feelings for her. Her and her brother almost fucked things up for me and the gang."

The relationship could compare to a mutalistic relationship. They both benefited from screwing each other but he never saw it going anywhere. He knew better than to trust a Winston, and just like he predicted she almost ruined everything for them.

Curly's thoughts were interrupted when it felt like he jumped into an ice bath. Heflinched as the slushee felt onto his shirt and seeped into his lap. The cold and sticky beverage already making its way into his freshly bleached shirt.

"Christ, I'm so sorry."

"Shit," Curly mumbled.

He tore his jacket off his body and neatly draped it across the chair. The waitress quickly grabbed napkins and attempted to wipe the mess off his shirt but she wasn't doing a good job. The mess was already in his shirt.

Curly blew out a breath and looked at the waitress. He recognized her as the girl from the juke joint a few weeks prior. She must have been a new waitress because Curly came to Susie's all the time and he had never seen her. He was taken a back by her soft features and almost forgot she spilled the drink.

"Ill get you another one." She said quickly.

"Don't worry about it." He said.

"Are you sure, it isn't a problem. I'm sorry, I'm new." She rambled.

"It ain't a problem. Its a little too cold for it anyway." Curly joked lightly.

"Can I get you anything else? I feel like a jerk."

Curly shook his head the girl and continued to wipe the drink off his arms. They were already sticky and he hated the feeling of being sticky. It reminded him of his old man. He'd always come in, sweaty and sticky from the outside and from spilled drinks on his skin.

"Thats alright. I'm gonna get outta here anyway."

He gave her a light smile which made her frown. He could gather that she was bit shy and she had some sort of innocence to her. Curly thought it was interesting to see, he didn't come across innocence in his neighborhood often and when he did, it was often corrupted. Gone before it even came.

"You know her?" Curly asked.

He eyed her as she walked behind the counter and stood in the corner in the back. Their eyes met briefly before she shyly looked away and disappeared into the back room. Shy girls weren't usually his type, Curly liked to talk and he liked to move fast. But there was something about her pure personality that made him want to talk to her.

"I wouldn't think about it." Pony laughs slightly.

Curly flicks his eyes back to Ponyboy, feeling slightly offended. Curly didn't consider himself to be ugly, Shepards had a reputation around town and it wasn't just for being tough. Chicks were always hung up over him, he didn't get what Ponyboy was trying to say.

"The fuck does that mean, Curtis?" Curly asks.

Pony shakes his head and shrugs. He sips on a coke that the girl must have brought to the table before she spilled the slushee.

"What I mean is, that's Willy Johnsons younger sister. He belongs to Brumley. 'Sides, she goes to that Christian school and shit."

Willy Johnson was an average Brumley kid. They lived about ten minutes away from Curly's block and they were ally's with the Shepards. They shared connects and backed each other if they needed it. He didn't see Willy Johnson being that much of a threat but he was pretty big guy. It wasn't that Curly was scared of him but he was sure he could pack a good punch if he was angry.

He figured it made sense that she went to a Christian School. Based on her timid nature she looked like she lacked the common sense when it came to growing up in downtown Tulsa streets. He could guess that her brother sheltered her, especially because she was so pretty. A girl like that didn't last long if she didn't have someone to protect her. That's where Tim messed up, he spent too much time working on his image and reputation that Angela became just like him. Tough and bitter. Like he said, being pure never lasts.

"That's too bad." Curly says to himself.


	3. C O L D

"I said I wouldn't hesitate to deck her. These dumb chicks really irk my nerves." Angela grumbles.

Curly sits across from his sister, halfway listening to her ramble on about, what it seems to be the same story every week with just a different name. He usually tries his best to listen to her story, most of the time anyway, but these days he was preoccupied with other things.

"And I don't know what it is with Bryon but I swear he's been getting wise with me, Curls."

Bryon Douglas had been Angela's ex boyfriend. A boy who was too sour that she broke up with him and a person who threw his own best friend to the pigs. Curly could never imagine giving Jimmy up over something so stupid like drugs. Everyone sold a little bit of speed for some cash.

"Let me know if he tries something with you and I'll kick his ass." Curly says to Angela.

Angela's face brightens and a small smirk appears on her lips. It wouldn't have been the first time Curly had beat him up. Bryon had gone around spreading rumors on why they split. Curly didn't like it too much when he referred to her as a no good whore.

"Y'know Connie is back right?" Angela adds in. "She was at the birthday bash... And you had me looking like an idiot, I thought you were coming."

Curly flicks his eyes back to Angela, he kind of wants to choke her for bringing Connie's name back up. Connie had been back for a few days and everybody was already telling him her whereabouts.

"Yeah, well, King Timothy held me up so I couldn't make it. 'Sides, I'm glad I missed out. I got to avoid Winston." Curly snorts.

Angela pressed her lips together and gives Curly a glare. Her and Connie were friends here and there. Similar to Dallas and Tim, they fought occasionally but made up before the end of the month.

"I was just letting you know. I didn't say you had to go screw her or nothin'."

Curly thinks back to the last time he saw good ol' Connie. She nearly messed up one of his biggest jobs with her big ass mouth, had the Tio's wanting to take his tongue out for even letting her get as close as she did. It wasn't entirely his fault, he had just been a little too careless and Connie went to stick her nose in places it didn't belong.

"Well spare me the details and make sure she stays outta my way. I ain't too keen on making chicks cry. I gotta go, Angel, I'll see you at home."

Curly grabs his tray and throws his trash out at the trash can. He stands around for a second to smoke on his cigarette before he goes to the next block. He's surprised when he sees Jimmy's figure walking closer towards him on the school campus.

"My, my, my. We better call the cops, a no good hood is on campus." Curly teases the greasy hood.

Jimmy rolls his eyes at the statement and jams his hands into his pockets. He looks like he has something on his mind. He hasn't looked like that since his mom had been in the hospital a while back.

"Fuck off." Jimmy begins. "Look, you gotta skip last block. Tim needs you down at Benny's."

Curlys smile turns into a frown at Jimmy's tone. He felt a little uneasy, particularly because Tim never asked him to skip school unless a job was important.

"No one's hurt. We just have important business. You'll be there?"

"Yeah, I'll be there." Curly says quickly.

Jimmy nods and Curly and pushes a smile on his lips before leaving him standing outside Will Rogers High School.

It wasn't long before Curly left last block and slipped out the back doors. Benny's had been a popular greaser hangout for a few years, they liked it because it was quiet and it didn't start jumping until the weekends. The Shepard Gang had their meetings there so no one could listen in on their plans.

Tim stops speaking once the bells to the door chimes and Curly walks in. Curly nods at Tim and he motions for him to take a seat next to him on the stool.

"Good, you came." Tim says.

Curly holds in a scoff at Tim's sarcastic remark. Missing a Shepard Gang meeting was serious, you could be bumped down in your rank and you could put yourself in danger from missing important news.

"You ain't miss much but we're putting together a plan." Tim says. "We're gonna steal Tibers connection and if everything works out we'll have some doors opened for new opportunities."

Tiber Street Tigers were a ruthless and brutal Irish gang. They had something to do with the girl getting shot down at Jay's. Not only was stealing their connection foul, it would mean an all out war. A war meant blood would be shed and a worse case scenario was that someone would be dead.

"Tiber wouldn't take too well with us jacking their connection." Curly said to Tim.

He felt uneasy in the chair. Something about the plan seemed unorganized and rushed. Tim wasn't one to be greedy, if business was going well he'd keep it that way. He had a feeling that kept edging him that his Tio's put Tim up to it. It wasnt like he could say no, not unless he wanted his product taken away from him. The Tio's were funny about that.

"Yeah, well, if they want war then that's what we'll give them." Tim said harshly.

Curly could read Tims face, everything about it said that he was unsure about the plan. They would need a lot of men, not to mention they had to keep the drop off with the stolen connect strong. If they missed a week it would cause tension.

"How's it gonna work?" Paulie asks.

Paulie was seventeen years old, a son born from strict catholic parents and spent most of his life in New York. He was alright to Curly, although they hadn't talked much. Curly was no where near being as religious as Paulie. He couldn't recite a prayer if his life depended on it.

Curly's ma had been raised catholic and she raised him and his siblings catholic. He stopped going to church when he was young, right after his dad died and he didn't really care to start back up , he didn't really care to deal with a priest who couldn't keep their hands to themselves. He heard a lot of stories down at the Reformatory of the sick perverts.

"I'm gonna send some kids down to the City within the next week or so, we'll discuss plans first before making things official. I haven't decided who I'm gonna send yet." Tim sighed.

Curly slouched some in his chair, the rest of the conversation held no meaning to him. He knew Tim wouldn't send him to the City, Curly could never organize jobs. He was damn near 17 years old, way older than Tim when he started jobs and Curly was more than capable of handling it but Tim still held him back from reaching his potential, it was like Tim didn't trust him and he only thought of Curly as a dumb kid brother.

"Vato, can I speak with you?" Tim says to Curly.

Curly lifts his head to meet Tims cold eyes. He flicks his eyes over to a private spot in Benny's and walks in the direction all the way in the corner. Curly follows Tim and leans against the wall with his arms crossed.

"I can trust you won't fuck this is up right?" Tim asks.

"Claro. Of course." Curly says.

Tim nods slowly and stares at Curly. A hard look pressed on his face and Curly still couldn't figure out what he was thinking.

"I heard Connie Winston was back in town. I reckon that she won't be a problem."

The way he says it comes out as harsh and more like a demand. He didn't have any plans to speak with her any time soon. He wasn't itching to get into any trouble. Not over her.

"She won't be a problem." Curly says quickly.

Curly's mind ran wild as he processed everything Tim was saying to him. He couldn't grasp the situation and he sure as hell couldn't figure out why he wanted to take a neighbors contact.

Tim made sure the Shepard Gang stayed clean for the most part. Curly knew Tim sold acid with the Tio's when he needed money, but he made sure the gang wasn't involved. If a chicano were caught with a small bag of grass they could get five years down at the county jail before they could even blink.

He had known countless Chicanos who got put away just for selling a little bit of speed. You had to be careful selling it, you never knew what cop was watching you and what gang was planning on knifing you up in the alley for a few grams of grass.

Curly wasn't exactly on the best terms with pigs anyway. They had it out for him and quite a few times they had planted things on him. They had a strange sense of satisfaction whenever he got put away. One less hood was roaming their "perfect" streets.

Tim was always able to put what times a pig would be around and use that to his advantage. He had a few spies telling him their secrets in exchange for a little bit of dough on the side.

Curly always admired how smart Tim was. His mind worked in different ways and he was able to plan and organize things until everything was pin perfect. He was smarter than the Tio's and that was saying something.

Curly felt like he was smart but not in that way. He was alright at making plays and coming up with as far as executing the plan, that's where he lost it. He figured if he had more patience and Tim's support, he'd be a little helpful.

"Curly I think I'm gonna send you to Oklahoma City." Tim says once they got home.

Curly stops rummaging through the fridge and looks over at Tim. Hes got his arms crossed over his chest but his focus isn't on Curly.

"Que?" Curly asks.

"You, Paulie, Jimmy. I think I'm gonna send y'all. I'll be the one making everything final of course."

Curly grabs a cup and fills it with water before sitting across from Tim at the kitchen table. He eyes a pill bottle that spilled over, that probably belongs to his mother. His mind wonders if Tim had ever sold ma some speed. She had been around a few times to beg for some money, he wouldn't be surprised if she was an alcoholic, but he wondered if Tim really was that heartless to sell Ma drugs.

"Be sure to not fuck it up, Curly. I got a lot riding on this." Tim warns.

Curly doesn't reply, instead he watches Tim get up and grab his car keys from the table and leave out the door. So much for quality time.

Curly's eyes settle on the leather jacket that was thrown onto the floor, yet to be washed. An uneasy feeling was settling on his stomach. All he could think about was someone ending up dead.

He sighs and puts his head in his hands. The life of a thug never goes unnoticed.


	4. D A I S Y

As much as Curly and Angela were always around each other and talking, they should've considered the other as their best friend. Talking came easy for them, it was almost effortless. It used to be like that with Tim too, but it was mainly Curly talking and Tim giving his wise advice.

Anxiety ridden Curly sat across from Angela and smoked quickly on his cigarette. He figured he was working on his second pack of the day. He had been feeling weird, it wasn't fear, he didn't really fear anything. But the feeling was dreadful and he hated it.

"Okay, que pasa? You ain't saying shit about my stories today."

Curly tries to remember a time when he actually did say something about her stories. She talked so fast he could barely get a word in, the words "Mhm" were casually thrown in as she talked so she thought he was listening.

"Tim is starting a war with Tiber." Curly says.

Curly takes another puff of his cigarette and shrugs. They were in good standing with Tiber, they pretty much kept out of each other's way, that meant selling drugs on their own turf.

"How much have you been smoking?"

"A shit ton." Curly replies. "This ain't the first war we had. Tim just ain't think straight about it."

It wasn't the first war they had. But it was usually turf wars, kids would be jumped here and there but stealing a gangs connect was foul.

Angelas eyebrows push together as she leaned in and listened to Curly talking.

"What do you mean. You think Los Tio's had something to do with it?"

"I know they did." Curly said while reaching for his pop.

He looked around for the waitress who spilled the slushee on him but he couldn't find her.

"They wanna steal Tibers biggest connection. Why else would Tim wanna do it?" Curly asks.

The meeting to Oklahoma City had gone well. Paulie used his famous smooth talking skills to put them into the beginning of a business deal. The only thing they needed was Tims approval and the shaking of hands and everything would be finished.

"Well, you need to be careful. My brother's ain't being lowered into the ground over fucking drugs." Angela says.

She knew what gang life was about and how it often ended in death or prison. She was a tough kid indeed, but the thought of losing her brothers was too much. She already lost both her parents.

"I'll be alright." Curly smirks.

"Well you'd better 'cause we're all we got left."

Curly bites one of Angela's fries and the feeling of anxiety had left his mind. It didn't take long for him to start feeling back to normal, not until he was alone with his thoughts at least.

"I think I see Sylvia. I'm gonna catch up with her."

Angela sits up and slides her milkshake over to Curly so he could settle the tab. She always skipped out before the meal was paid for. It was useless because he wouldn't ever let her pay for a meal.

Curly turned to watch Angela meet up with Sylvia. Angela had been known for lying, she was too fast for her age Curly thought. Hanging on boys who could be her older brother and not thinking about the messes she made for Curly and Tim to clean up.

Sylvia wasn't much better. She had reminded him of a sneaky cat, graceful but a pain in the ass who always was up to no good. She was the kid sister of an old Shepard Gang member and sold pills on the side. She was hardly a threat to the Shepard Gang. He just hoped she wouldn't drag Angela into it, she seemed smarter than that though.

Once Curly was sure she met up with Sylvia he threw a few coins on the table to handle the bill. He took one last sip of his pop and left the diner. It seemed like everyday the air was getting colder and colder in Tulsa. Curly still hadn't gotten around to washing that damn leather jacket, instead he just slapped on Tims old one.

Curly fixed his eyes on a figure walking in the same direction as him. Once they settled, he realized it was the cute waitress who spilled the slushee on him.

"Hey, now!" Curly called out to her.

He quickly caught up to her, her legs were no match against his long ones. It was a surprise Curly turned out to be tall, he hadn't had a growth spurt until he was almost 16.

The girl stopped and looked up at Curly. For the first time he could admire her features. She was doll like, big brown eyes that reminded him of a puppy, plump lips, high cheekbones with a round nose.

"Hi.." She mumbled.

The girl was timid. The way she held her bag close to her and avoided looking at him, he knew that she was sort of shy and obviously sheltered.

"I'm sorry about the slushee. If you want I could get you another one." She said quickly.

Curly noticed that she wasn't in her uniform. Instead, she had on a light blue sweater and a plaid skirt that fit around her legs perfectly.

"Forget about the slushee." Curly replies.

The Johnson girl switches her feet. She's wearing black Mary Janes. The outfit is different than what Angela would wear or Sylvia but yet similar.

"Can I walk you home?"

The girl gets a puzzled look on her face. As if she has no idea why he's asking if he can walk her home. He could understand why she was skeptical, but part of him was curious about her and another part would feel bad if something happened if she were alone.

"I don't think that's a good idea." She mumbles. "I reckon it might be a problem because... You're white."

Curly let's out a soft chuckle. He was used to people's wrong accusations. To some he looked chicano but to most he looked sort of white. It was because his eyes were blue and his skin was pale. His father had been half white and half chicano, his mother a full chicana. He could only imagine how pissed his Tio's were when they found out she was pregnant by Stephen Shepard.

"I'm chicano. I go to the same school as your brother, Booker T."

For a while, Curly went to Will Roger's High School until Curly's freshman year and the kid's wouldn't stop throwing around racial slurs. He had to defend himself ever day and it got so dangerous he couldn't go anywhere without backup.

The look of embarrassment falls on her face and she scrunches it up, avoiding looking at his eyes.

"I'm sorry." She adds.

Curly's eyes are fixed partly on her chest and partly on her shining gold cross the rested just below her collarbone. He hadn't fooled around with many religious girls, ironically, they always turned out to be too wild for him. But by the way she looked, he doubted she was a partier.

"C'mon." Curly says. "Let's get you home."

The two begin walking in quiet. The only thing that can be heard is their shoes crushing the tiny rocks below their feet. His mind wonders what exactly he wants from her, getting snatch was a dime a dozen for him, but he couldn't help but feel intrigued.

"Aren't you in that gang? The Shepards?" She asked.

If it had been anyone else Curly would feel offended. Everyone was supposed to know the gangs around here but the way she asked about it was genuine and actually curious.

"Yeah. My big brother runs it." Curly says proudly.

He finds himself smiling at the statement and surprised of how quickly he praised his brother. They hadn't been on good terms and everyone knew that but his accomplishments were something to brag about. He was ruthless and Curly loved it.

"Groovy." She says shortly.

As they walk, he wonders if he offended her. Religion was something that was complicated for him. People turned their noses at him and branded him with the term "Hoodlum" before he could even get a breath out. He wondered where her boundaries were, she didn't seem bothered.

"So you're the Shepard who's always in trouble?" She asks.

Curly's name was whispered among everyone in town. Delinquent training to be a thug, on the track to die before 23. He heard it all and he wasn't surprised that she did too. But the way she reacted didn't seem like she cared much.

"Yeah. That's me, I'm Curly." he tells her.

He watches her face as she frowns. It's easy to forget that everyone had a nickname in the neighborhood. Your nickname became your actual name and your real name was foreign.

"Well, it's Charles. But everyone calls me Curly." he adds in.

The girl has a light smile on her face and he can't help but notice. It's sort of cute, in a totally innocent way. He has a voice inside his head, screaming to get away from her before she gets ruined but he can't bring himself to leave her.

"My names Daisy. Like in the Great Gatsby."

He isn't sure if he's heard the book before. Maybe Pony read it in front of him but Curly wouldn't be able to pick out a book. They didn't even interest him, the closest thing to reading he did was reading comics out of the paper and occasionally Superheros down at the comic store on the west side.

"Thats.. A nice name."

It fit her. She was dainty like a flower, soft, delicate and pretty.

"You go to that Catholic school, huh? You like it?" He asked her.

Th catholic school had all types of girls. His ma had even been one but the slaps with the wood must not have been enough to scare her because she still spread her legs for a sleazy bum he called Dad.

Daisy shrugs and takes a few moments to answer, like she's thinking of the right things to say.

"Its alright. I reckon they're strict but I know they care."

"Do they beat yall with paddles and shit?"

He notices that she doesn't flinch when he curses. Her brother must not of sheltered her that much or maybe her parents cursed around her.

Curly could remember ma trying to scare Angela, saying she'd send her to a catholic school and they'd beat her if she didn't get in line. He could still hear her cries and screaming for Tim. Tim had been their savior. A place of comfort, a person who was always there despite his flaws. If it weren't for him, Curly probably would've been dead.

"Sometimes. Not often, I meant strict like the word of God and praying. That kind of stuff." She says, laughing a bit at the end of the sentence.

"That blows, you don't go to no parties? Have some fun?"

By now they're approaching some houses that look similar to his own. Not very nice on the outside. A part of him feels a little comforted by it, it's strange really.

"Naw. I go dancing with my girlfriend, Karen, but that's about it." She answers.

"Shit gets wild at parties." Curly tells her.

He had been going to parties since he was about 11. He used to sneak out the house to get into Bucks parties, he'd always get caught but it was worth the beer. She stops in front of a house that looks decent. It's got one story, like his. But it's decorated, as if they tried to make it better than it is.

"This is my stop."

"You should let me take you for a coke."

Daisy blushes before shaking her head at him. She probably thinks he wants to get her in the backseat of his car. While that idea doesn't sound too bad, he wasn't keen on rushing chicks.

"My brother wouldn't go for it. He'd have your head." She jokes.

Curly shrugs and looks at her. She gives him a light smile and he can't help but wonder what it would be like to kiss her.

"One day soon." he says to her.

He watches as she walks up the steps. The stupid voice is still telling him to leave her alone but he doesn't want to. No, he can't. Because if you found some pure you shouldn't let go. Not that easy anyway.


	5. P O W D E R

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Curly is stuck in a stressful situation.

Yo, Shepard, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Monday were Curly's least favorite day. It was the thought of the beginning of a new week, knowing you had so many days to get the fact that it was Monday, Curly had a throbbing headache. He could barely get out of the bed this morning, let alone pay attention in class without feeling like he would die any second. It was a miracle he made it to lunch without passing out. The feeling was making him want to spill yesterday's dinner onto the white marble floors. A few beers didn't usually give him a hangover, not this bad anyway.

Curly eyed the kid. He didn't look familiar, he was black, short, and funny looking. His feet were much larger than the rest of his body, and he had a strange look to him that reminded Curly of a pesky mouse. He didn't notice a tattoo, not one that's visible anyway. And he wasn't sporting gang colors, just wearing a regular sweater with converse.

"Who's asking?" Curly asks while slamming his locker shut.

He can feel the packet of grass resting against his thigh, tucked snugly into his pocket. Most kids kept it in their locker but that would be the first place a cop searched and if a kid was good with locks they could get to your stash. Curly would rather put up a fight than be that dumb and have everything stolen within seconds.

"Chuck." The kid answers shortly.

Curly thinks to who Chuck might be, canceling out possibilities. The only black gang the Shepards were allies with were Brumley. Brumley was the only one they needed an alliance with, the other black gangs like the Pythons and Scorpions were just street gangs.

Curly walks up to the short kid and he notices how he towers over him. Curly must've been around six foot by now, the kid was easily five four. By the looks of it, the kid could easily pass for being 13, way too young to be in high school.

He motioned his head around the corner. Curly makes sure his blade is in his pocket just in case the kids werent up to being friendly today. They walked around the corner and a group of black kids are leaning up the wall. They're scowling but he knows it's a defense mechanism. He notices they're wearing a light colored tan and it's obvious they belong to Brumley.

"Looking for me?"

Curly makes sure to stay at a distance. He wasn't itching to be jumped in the hallway and left there until a teacher found him. At least if they try something he can turn the corner quicker.

"I just wanna talk." The guys says smoothly.

The guy is smooth like silk. He takes him to be Chuck, just by the confident swagger and sense of authority he has over the other guys. He's tall, brown skinned, with a growing afro, a popular style that was growing among the blacks.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Chuck Davis and this is Willy Johnson."

Curly flicks his eyes to Willy and nods at him. He doesn't look much like Daisy, they both have dark tanned skin, but Willy resembles a teenaged Marvin Gaye. For a minute Curly wonders if Willy saw him and his sister together but he quickly brushes it off. He didn't care much about it anyway, Daisy wasn't his girl. Though he wouldn't mind if she was, she was gorgeous with a nice body and he bet her lips tasted sweet.

"Alright." Curly says while crossing his arms.

He leans against the wall and takes in the appearance of the other guys. They're only there for show, they aren't real players in the game.

"We got something on our hands and we need you to take care of it. We figured a Shepard could get rid of it. Quick too." he says cooly.

Curly shrugs and shakes his head. Everything went through Tim, he wasn't aiming to take initiative for something Tim didn't sign off on.

"You gotta talk to Tim."

Chuck shakes his head. There's a cigarette between his lips, just resting and has yet to be lighted. It's obvious he's trying to appear tougher but he isn't fooling Curly. It would take a lot more than that to make him nervous.

"Naw. Look, it's just this one time."

Chuck pulls out a package out of his jeans. Curly can see it clearly, a bag of snow, white as day. Curly hadn't been around it often, that kind of speed was hard to get your hands on. It was usually reserved for the upper class, higher than the socs. You had to have real connections to deal it. His Tio's dealt with it occasionally but he wasn't allowed to go near it.

"Let's just say, it'll be worth your while."

Curlys about to tell them to go to hell but the sound of footsteps throws him off track. It isn't likely but if whoever it is turns the corner they're all getting thrown in cuffs.

"You sell fast. You'll get rid of it." Willy reasons. "Now grab it 'fore we all get caught."

"Mierda." Curly mumbles to himself.

Curly quickly grabs the speed and shoves it down his pants pocket. It pokes out slightly, like a pocket knife or a heater. Curly didn't have a heater yet because Tim insisted he'd get himself killed.

"Get rid of it." They say quickly.

They quickly wander off and go the opposite way and Curly's left in the empty hallway. The footsteps disappear inside a classroom and Curly rests his back against the wall.

He doesn't know the first thing about selling cocaine, there was some sort of packaging process that went with it. He couldn't tell Tim, he'd have his ass and the tios would too. The only person who can come to mind is Jose.

He leans up from the wall and walks through the hallways, the only thing that can be heard is the squeaking of his sneakers against the waxed marble floor.

For the rest of the day Curly couldn't shake that uneasy feeling he had. He tried to hide the block as best as he could without breaking it but he ended up leaving school by 1:30 and catching the bus to a few towns over.

He found himself outside Tio Jose's house, standing on his old wooden porch that he was sure it would fall any day now. The house was run down, worse than his own house. Part of the windows had been boarded up with wood and the house a strange dingy look to it.

Curly brought his hand up to knock on the front door. He couldn't hear anything at first but then the sound of movement was noticeable.

"Who is it?" Jose's voice bellowed.

He had only met Jose a few times. He had been raised to stay away from him or Tim would beat him personally with the extension cord. He knew that it was just a threat, extension cords brought Curly back to a bad place and Tim would never do it on purpose.

"Its Curly." He says back.

He hers the floorboards creak as he approaches the door. A few seconds later it swings open and they're staring at each other curiously. Curly never noticed how much he looked like his Tio. He could almost pass for his dad, despite the fact that he was much darker than him and he brown eyes instead of blue.

"What do you need, papi?" He asks.

Curly flinches at the words. It had been a long time since someone called him papi and it was words of endearment. His mom used to, before she turned heartless.

He blows out a breath and pats the block in his leg. He felt like everybody in the world knew his damn secret and he wanted it gone as soon as possible.

"I need some help."

Jose studies him hard. He strokes the beard that's coming up lightly and looks Curly over, one time, two times, three. By the look on his face, he knows what Curly means about "help".

After a few moments of standing outside, his uncle moves to the side to let him in. Curly stands there awkwardly, it feels like he just crossed the line into hell and he had the forbidden fruit in his pants.

He tries to ignore the feeling and instead looks around the house. It looks a lot nicer on the inside than it does the outside. A new couch, new TV that he could bet was color. Everything about this showed his uncle had some ties. It was better to stay low anyway, the fuzz would have less of a chance taking you down.

"So what you get yourself into?" He questions.

Curly clears his throat and reaches into his old Levi's, he pulls out the block and watches as his uncles eyes light up like its Christmas morning.

"I need your help getting rid of this shit." Curly sighs.

His uncle doesn't hesitate to get closer and grab the block out of his hands. He opens the package and dips a finger in his, lightly sucking the dust off his finger.

"This is good shit, where you get it... Is Timmy selling this?"

Curly gets a chilled feeling, he doesn't sound concerned, he sounds sort of excited at the thought of him selling it.

"Nah, un par de niños." (A couple of kids)

"Tu Español es bueno." (Your Spanish is good) his uncle says with a quick smile.

"Yeah, Ma spoke it at home."

They could all speak good Spanish. Ma had been speaking it to them ever since they were babies, he wouldn't be surprised if that was the first language that he picked up.

"I'm surprised, especially with the gringo papa of yours."

Curly held his tongue at the talk of his father. He didn't like when people bashed him, only Curly could do that. It wasn't much of a secret that Stephen Shepard and Los Tio's never got along. Curly could remember his Ma screaming at them that it was "All their fault". As far as he knew, he was a decent man, besides him being a drunk. As he grew older, the memories of him began to fade everyday.

"So can you help me or what?"

Curly takes a deep breath so Jose can't hear the tone of annoyance and anger in his voice. The last thing he needs is a fight with his uncle over his anger issues. They didn't know each other well, so he bet he had no issues telling him to kick rocks.

The lightheaded feeling had returned. The pulsing headache that disappeared for a few hours has come back to bite him in the ass. He was starting to doubt it was from a hangover. Curly leaned against the wall to support his aching head, the only thing that sounded appealing was his uncle saying he could help and crashing in his bed.

"Yeah.. I can help." Jose says nodding. "Come back Friday."

"Thats it? Come back Friday?" Curly questions.

"Thats what I fucking said right?" His uncle questions.

Curly doesn't know if joking or not by the way he says it. But he calms down some when a smile come up on his face.

He doesn't know why but it makes his skin turn a bit. He doesn't even know what Brumley wants with the dust or why they pushed it off on him so quick.

He takes one last look at his uncle and walks out the door. This was his life, 16 years old, gangbanging, and stuck to sell angel dust probably worth more than his existence.


	6. T H U R S D A Y

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Curly finally runs into Connie Winston...and she wants favor? He always finds himself staring at a gold cross hanging on some girls neck.

Curly freezes when he hears the voice. One that's all too familiar, he could never forget the tone of her voice, how she spoke so light and it flowed off her tongue so easily.

"Well, well, well." the voice says.

Curly spins in his seat at the bar and comes face to face with Connie Winston. She looks the same as always, beautiful yet dangerous. Her hair looks to be freshly bleached and her eyeliner is straight, just like a true greaser girl.

"Winston."

Connie lets out a laugh. The sound of it is chilling and gives Curly memories, ones that he had forgotten a long time ago. He would prefer it stayed that way, but Connie had a way of digging to get what she wanted. Connie pulls the stool out at the bar and sits next to Curly, her eyes looking him over a few times. Almost like she's examining him.

"That's a little too formal don't you think, Charlie?"

He winces at the nickname. She always thought it was amusing to call him that, even though they hadn't been together long enough to develop pet names for each other. There was nothing affectionate about their agreement, just hateful sex when the other needed it,

"What can I help you with, Connie?" Curly asks before he finishes his pop bottle.

"I see you ain't having your usual beer...that's different."

"Its been months since we've seen each other. Sorry to burst your bubble but I ain't a 15 year old alcoholic no more."

Curly had an unspoken depression and drinking beer was his go to, to ease him of his problems. Beer comforted him for the time being, that is until Angela found out and snitched to Tim, crying about how he'd fuck his liver up just like the Old Man.

He watches her cautiously as she orders herself a beer and sips a tiny bit off the top. She was pretty that was undeniable, and their was something about her icy blue eyes that always intrigued him, bringing him in closer than he'd like.

"You always have been the goofy Shepard." She comments.

"The fuck do you want, Connie?"

"And the emotional one." She added. "I reckon I heard about that speed Brumley gave you."

Curly's shoulders immediately begin to tense up. No one had known about the deal other than him and the Junior Brumley Gang. He takes in a light breath before she notices.

"I dunno what you're talking about."

Connie lets out another laugh, seductive and girly. At one point in time he thought it was hot, now it was highly annoying.

"I ain't snitching to Tim. 'Sides, Dally don't even know about it... I wanted to ask you for a favor."

"What kind of favor?"

"I wanna sell it with you. Speed can sell for a lot and I know how to get rid of it quick." She begins.

"How the fuck do you know about it, Connie?!" Curly asks.

The anger spreads through Curly quickly. He's close to lashing out at Connie, especially with the stress he had been going through with the speed. He could already see her messing it up as they sold it, Connie wasn't like Dallas, she wasn't smart enough to pull it off.

Brumley had already been on his case since Tuesday asking him what he did with the dust. He bet they thought he flushed it down the toilet, which seemed like a better idea than to keep it but he couldn't risk messing up the ties between Shepard and Brumley Gang, they were too valuable to risk losing.

"I heard from a Brumley kid. He told me...no one knows." She says quickly. "What do you say, partners?"

He shakes his head, as if he didn't have enough on his plate, now he needed to confront the Brumley kid. Curly takes a look at Connie and let's out a harsh laugh. The last time they tried to do business it ended in flames.

"Fuck you Connie."

"You already did!" She sasses as he walks away.

Curly pushes passed the drunken crowd to stand on the other side of Buck's. He was looking for a distraction, to ease his mind over what just happened, and a nice looking girl would do the trick. That is, until the Johnson girl walked into Bucks.

Daisy looked nervous as her eyes scanned the crowd. He figured any person would be if they weren't exposed to bars and sloppy drunk people. She clutched her purse close to her stomach and her hair had been tied up in a ponytail, and judging by the uniform she had on he figured her shift recently ended.

Of all places, Bucks bar was the last place he would expect her to be at. And by the looks of it she wasn't itching to be there. Curly sighed and walked over towards her, grabbing her arm before anyone else could get their hands on her. It wasn't likely for her to go unnoticed, not the way she innocently stood there and not to mention the fact that she was black.

"What're you doing here Daisy?" Curly asks.

Curly notices his hand is still on her arm. He quickly pulls it off and looks down at Daisy, who looks highly embarrassed. She has an awkward smile stuck on her face that makes him wonder if she had even been touched before.

She lets out a light sigh and smiles brightly at him. Curly felt his stomach twinge at the sight. He was always in some sort of awe when he saw her. It was obvious she wore makeup, her lips were always painted a dark pink but she didn't seem to put much time into her appearance, not like the girls he knew. That went for greasers and socs.

"I've been uh... Have you seen Willy? He was supposed to walk me home after my shift." She explains.

"Naw, sorry. I mean..I got my brother's car, we could circle around town a few times." he suggests.

She shakes her head as she looks around the bar a few times. He wonders what she's thinking, he can't tell. It looks like her mind runs with thousands of thoughts.

"Alright." She says softly.

Daisy follows Curly outside and sits on the passenger side of Tim's car. It's an old car, one that barely ran but Tim was convinced to keep pushing it until it finally died. He put a lot of work into the car.

"Thanks for taking me, I ain't mean to get you away from the party and all."

Curly shrugs as he starts the car, he reckons it was a good thing be taken away from the party. The night probably would've ended in regret, with Angela and Tim dragging him home.

"It's better that I left..a gal like you shouldn't be at Buck's anyway." he says casually.

She snorts in response as he circles around the Downtown streets, so far he hasn't seen anyone from Brumley.

"God, you sound like Willy."

"I take it that you and Willy are close, especially because he's the reason you can't get a coke with me." he teases.

Daisy looks flustered once Curly mentions getting a coke. She fiddles with her fingers and looks out the window, eyes squinting to maybe get a glance of Willy. But he thinks it's mostly to avoid looking at him.

"My brother is protective, he doesn't like me being around gangs."

"Your brothers in a gang."

Daisy shrugs and looks back over at him. He manages to catch a small glimpse of her face, her eyes looking at him intently and curiously.

"To better protect me I reckon." Daisy says. "There's good people in gangs, a lot of people join for their families sake."

Curlys mind races back to Tim and why he decided to go through with the gang. His father had a small one, his Tios were more involved and had much larger connects. He figured it was for protection and a way to take care of the family.

"So, what if Willy was fine with you getting a coke with me? Would you?"

Daisy laughs a tiny bit before tucking a stray hair behind her ears. "Why do you want a coke with me anyway? This how you pick up your chicks?"

Curly circles around Susies Diner and there's no sight of any Brumley or Willy. It's likely he decided to go home afterward anyway. He could imagine she was worried, Angela would stay up all night looking for him if he never came home.

"I dig your style." Curly says.

He parks the car outside of Susies and looks over at Daisy. Her legs are exposed from her work uniform and the sight of them gets his thoughts running. There was a lot he was thinking about doing to them. He quickly looks away and stares out the window.

"Well we damn near circled all of Tulsa and there's no sight of Willy."

Daisy sighs with a bit of disappointment.

"Alright. Do you mind taking me home?"

Curly's lips formed into a smirk as he pulled out of the driveway and in the direction of her house. There was an uneasy silence in the car and he could tell she had something on her mind.

"Are you alright?" Curly asks.

"I just worry for him y'know? He's out and about with the gang and I ain't dumb, I know he's probably out there fighting." She says quietly.

"I'm sure Willy's a smart guy. I don't know him that much but Brumley's pretty safe when it comes to violence."

They were always cautious, similar to the Shepard Gang which is probably why they were allies. He wonders if she knows about the cocaine deal between him and Brumley, it doesn't seem like she likes talking about drugs.

"Are you alright? I noticed you were a bit off."

The question throws him off guard, the way she says it is like the sweetest thing on earth. He wasn't used to people asking how he was and they genuinely meant it. Her eyes looked at him attentively, like she knew something was up. His eyes meet hers for a brief second, like they always did whenever he saw her in public, but this time it was him who looked away. He looked down at her cross necklace, shining from the street lights and then back onto the road.

"I..I'm fine." Curly mumbles. "I got myself into a sticky situation I guess."

"Yeah? Is it..bad? I mean, you don't have to tell me."

Curly barely even told his best friend things about his personal life so he would never tell some random chick about his dumb mistake. He wanted to though, just the thought of coming clean to someone made him feel better. Like pressure would be off his shoulders.

"I fucked up. I dunno how it'll turn out but you gotta do what you gotta do, right?"

Curly pulls the car up front outside her house, there's no lights on and he's surprised when she stays in the car. He's relieved that she stayed, it felt good to not have a person abandon you.

"Life is tough, 'specially for poor people like us. But you keep pushing and focus on the good in life." She says. "And if you ever need a person to speak to, you can talk to me."

Daisy flashes him a crooked smile and like always, she's contagious, and he finds himself smiling too. It isn't a grin but just a light smile. To show that he's content..

She turns to get out of the car but stops halfway and turns to face him.

"I would get that coke with you, by the way." She smiles.

Curly doesn't say anything, he just grins at her instead as she walks up the steps to her house and disappears behind the door. There was just something about that Daisy Johnson and he knew he had to have her. He needed some sort of light in his world of darkness.

 

 

Please comment, anonymous comments too? Thank you for reading!!! I've been looking for fanfiction, if you have any The Outsiders stories that you're working on I'd love to read them!


	7. C O K E

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Curly finally gets his product and gets the balls to ask The Johnson girl on a date.

"Curls, there's some eggs in the kitchen." Tim mutters from the doorway.

Curly keeps his eyes closed as he attempts to sink deeper into his mattress. His blanket was pulled up to his nose and he really didn't feel like leaving his bed but he knew he had important things to do. He slowly opens his eyes and squints at Tim who's staring at him. It's obvious he just woke up, being that his hair isn't greased back yet. Although his clothes are freshly pressed.

"Any special reason on why you cooking?" Curly asks.

Tim only cooked on the first Sunday of every month to keep up the tradition of being a close family. He'd cook traditional Chicano dinners and they'd all sit at the table and talk about what was going on in there lives. It seemed like each dinner would get even more awkward than the first. For the most part, they ate dinners at diners and quick fast food restaurants. Curly always told himself to slow down, otherwise he'd end up looking like his Tio's.

"Haha you're a real riot." Tim said with a dry tone.

Curly sat up and got out the bed once Tim left the room. He felt the air coming in from his window that he forgot to close the previous night. Surprisingly he wasn't tired, he got home at a reasonable time after he dropped Daisy off. As Curly pulled his clothes on he had been thinking about her, it was almost as if he could still smell her perfume. He couldn't figure out why she was on his mind being that he barely knew her, but it was a pleasant thought. He didn't have too much of those.

Once Curly reached the kitchen he noticed that Angela and Tim had already been eating. Curly made his plate and joined them at the table, Tim sitting at the head. In their household, sitting at the head of the table was a very important role, it meant you took on the responsibilities of the house and everyone was supposed to respect you. He couldn't remember exactly when Tim took the head of the table but it felt natural when he did. He could remember the arguing and the fights that went on with Ma's old boyfriends over the lack of respect the kids gave them. There wasn't a point to respect them, not if they were gonna be out the door after living off their mom.

"You seen Ma?" Tim asked.

Curly lazily moved his eggs around on his plate, eyes looking to Tim who slowly buttered his toast and then to Angela. He couldn't remember the last time he saw Ma now that he thought about it. He knew she was always down at that Hippie House everyone liked. She usually came home once a week and crashed on the couch, sometimes for a few hours, sometimes for a few days.

"No, and I'm glad I haven't see that ol' bitch." Angela snaps.

Curly rolls his eyes at the harshness of Angela's voice. He understood why she hated her so much and at times he did too, but she was still his mom and she'd always have a soft spot in his heart. Gloriana Garcia-Shepard was not perfect in any way, but he knew she had her own demons that she was dealing with. He knew he was bias but he couldn't help it, that was the woman who fixed him up after a scrape on the playground.

"Nah, I ain't seen her."

He thought about the last time he saw her and all he could remember was her having a screaming match about two weeks ago with her boyfriend, Joe. If he wasn't busy, he'd go by the Hippie house to check on her and maybe give her some money. Tim always hated when Curly did that, he felt as if she was taking advantage of him and Curly knew that she was. Maybe he felt that he had to beg for her affection, Tim had always been the favorite, he was the only kid she planned. Curly and Angela were mistakes and it was worse that they were twins.

Curly checks his old watch before getting up from the table. He had to be at the bus soon to get to Jose's house. He quickly washed his plate and threw it on the rack, almost breaking it in the process.

"Well, I gotta get going. Said I'd meet one of the boys down at school."

It was extremely rare for Curly to ever lie to Tim. He didn't want to think of it as lying, more like keeping something from him. Tim had known everything about Curly, even the details of his first time. Curly kept telling himself that he was doing it to help the alliance with Brumley, because if they lost them it would hurt the Shepard Gang.

The ride to Jose's was exactly how he remembered, long and bumpy and the bus smelled like a mixture of fart and sweaty bodies. He wondered when the hell someone actually cleaned this bus and he was more than excited when he got let off at the gas station. From there, he walked about five minutes to Jose's house, where he stood on the outside steps. He debated on if he should turn around and just forget about it but he took a deep breath and knocked,

"Damn, sobrino, you're here early as shit. Couldn't sleep?" Jose asked once he opened the door.

Jose was only wearing a dingy white undershirt and plaid boxers. His chain was hanging around his neck, the morning sun bouncing off of the gold and into Curly's eyes. He looked grouchy as he rubbed at his eyes.

"I had to come before school or Tim would know something was up." Curly explained.

Jose nodded and stepped aside for Curly to come inside. He checked the outside of the house before shutting the door and motioning for Curly to follow him into the backroom. It was dark in there, the only light was a small bulb hanging from the ceiling, ready to blow out any second and the sunlight coming through the black curtains.

"Now ese..I'll give it to you, ready and packaged with an address for the places to sell it where Timmy can't catch up. IF, you give me 35%."

Curly eyed Jose standing there. He didn't like the sound of it and the whole situation seemed sketchy. All he could hear was Tim telling him Jose couldn't be trusted, but right now he didn't have any other choice. He needed to sell it fast so he could get back on track with Brumley. Jose stood there with his arms crossed over his chest, Curly wanted to tell him to "Fuck yourself" but he decided not to.

"30%, I ain't know you was gonna charge me for shit I coulda did myself." Curly growls.

Jose shakes his head slightly and lets out a sarcastic laugh.

"Okay vato. 30%, if there's a next time I want 35."

Jose turns towards the table and pulls out a brown paper bag, carefully adding the prescription powders into the bag. Curly stalks over the table and reaches for a bottle and examines it. Each bottle has the same amount of cocaine in it, carefully leveled off, it barely looked like anything.

"Okay nino, each of the bottles get sold for $20 each, entiendes, not a dollar less. You go straight a la casa, put this shit somewhere safe alright."

"Claro..what about the address?"

Jose laughed again as he folded the paper bag, imitating a shoppers bag. "Relax vato. Call me tomorrow afternoon, alright? Enjoy the night, find a pretty chica."

Curly's mind travels to Daisy Johnson again. All he can think about is her smile and her laugh. It wasn't often when he wanted to take a girl on a date, but he really wanted to. He liked her awkwardness and the way she fiddled with her fingers. She'd probably never agree to a date but he figured there was no harm in asking again.

Jose pushed Curly out the door and rode the bus back home. The shopping bag was small and he already knew the place where he was going to hide it but he'd need a temporary spot before going home, otherwise he might run into Tim. He went passed the lot and hid it under the seats of an old car, no one would find it, people were focused on making out and fucking, not reaching under the seat. He'd come back for it once school ended and he'd hide it under his floorboards.

Curly took a deep breath and walked in the direction of the local Catholic school. He was lucky that it was around 11 and they were on their lunch break, he was going to ask her out today. And if she didn't say yes he'd just show up and ask again tomorrow. He knew he had to have her. As he walked, he saw some girls in their uniform chatting along the sidewalk. Some of them giggled at the sight of a greaser and some sneered. He was used to the looks, the girls who acted stuck up were always the ones to fall in love.

He noticed Daisy standing on the side of school, her hair was in a ponytail with a headband and her school uniform. She was talking to another female, one he thought he had saw before but he wasn't sure. She was lightly tanned with short hair, smoking a cigarette as Daisy chewed on a piece of gum.

"Daisy, can I talk to you?" Curly asked once he approached them.

Daisy's eyes widened in shock and her cheeks raised slightly from an embarrassed smile. She looked between her friend and Curly, not knowing exactly what to say. Curly had froze for a moment as he looked at her, he was always surprised when he saw her and it seemed like she got prettier each time. If that was even possible. He cleared his throat and took a breath.

"Sorry, I gotta talk to Daisy for a minute." Curly says to her friend.

He grabs her wrist and leads her a few feet away behind a section of the school. He notices as her friend watches protectively but also very intrigued. Curly cuts his eyes back to Daisy as she nervously chews on her lips.

"Curly, you can't just show up at my school!" She stutters. "Sister Catherine might see."

"Fuck Sister Catherine..look, Daisy. Let me take you out for a coke." Curly pleads.

Daisy face lights up at Curly's offer before it falls again. "I can't, Willy is gonna be pissed."

Curly has a weird urge to touch her face and kiss her. He steps back slightly before he does something he regrets. "Just one date alright? I know you like me too." Curly grins.

She smiles again and he feels like he might actually melt. It was the purest thing he had ever seen and it was as if she didn't even know she had the ability to do that.

"Alright, Willy's going to a party Saturday and James will be visiting our Aunt. You could pick me up at seven." She says quickly. "I gotta go 'fore Sister Catherine catches me."

She quickly walks off, looking over her shoulder once and smiling at Curly before leaning in close to speak to her friend. He can hear he friend asking who that cute greaser was and her giggle in response. But he's happy as hell because he just scored a date with Daisy, and then he remembers he's got a shit ton of coke hiding under the seats of an abandoned car.

Thanks for reading, please review! I would love feedback and things I should improve. :)


	8. V A N I L L A

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Curly finally goes on his date with Daisy.

Curly never would've expected to go though this much agony waiting for a date. As if that wasn't enough his mind kept going back to what he was keeping under his floorboards, he wasn't even religious but he was sure he was going to be damned to hell. He hadn't even told Jimmy about it and because of that he hadn't seen him in a while. The only thing he was even excited for was the date he was going on, he had gotten used to the hookups in Bucks rooms upstairs.

"Curls, you got a phone call." Angela says from the doorway.

He notices her standing in the doorway, she doesn't have a scowl on her face, instead she had a strange looking smile on her face, like she's about to hear the lastest gossip about Paul Newman.

"Who is it?"

"Its a girl," She yawns. "Says her name is Daisy, you home or not?"

Curly can feel his heart rate pick up and he sits up from his bed, leaning over to stub his cigarette out. "I'll be there in a second."

He starts to get even more nervous, they had about an hour before his date started and he swore she was about to cancel the date. He'd be bummed, no one had stood him since he was 13. When Mary Bates said she'd meet him at the movie theater and he waited all day for her, Tim had to drive him home and buy him some ice cream because he was so embarrassed. As soon as he went to school he made it his business to beat her brother up.

"Hey," Curly said once he picked the phone up.

"Hey, now." She replied back in her sweet tone. Her voice was hushed like someone had their ear pressed to the wall attempting to listen to the conversation.

"Don't take this the wrong way but I gotta cancel. I'm stuck with James because Pa went out."

"Damn..are you sure?" Curly asks.

"Yeah, sorry."

Curly takes a deep breath before he turns his back to Angela who's creeping in the kitchen and huddles closer into the phone. "Well, James can come. He ain't a snitch right?" Curly teases.

He can hear her laugh through the phone and it already has him smiling, he's relieved that Angela can't see it or else she'd be telling everyone he's 'pussy whipped'. He was getting annoyed just thinking about Los Tios finding out about it, their jokes were monotonous and he was sick of it.

"Naw he ain't, you sure though?"

"Yeah, I'll be there soon." Curly says.

"Well, we'll be there at the corner of Sutton and Pickett. Thanks a lot, Curly I mean it."

"Don't mention it."

Curly hung the phone back on the wall, the sound of Angela's door closing grateful or else she'd be asking him non stop who he was going out with. He didn't put it past her, she was probably already on the phone with her slutty friends telling them his business. Curly went out searching for Tim so he could remind him about the car.

"Tim?" Curly calls.

"I'm in here." He calls from the room.

Curly stands outside of Tim's room. He could never find himself to step over the door frame and walk in. The room used to be his mothers and his old man's. It brought back memories, especially the bad ones. He could still see himself bent over the bed, Cole beating the life out of him with the buckle but refusing to cry because he didn't deserve that reaction. Tim notices Curly's srunched up face and the way he's leaning on the side of the door.

"What do you need, hermano?" Tim asked.

"I just wanted to make sure I could still borrow el carro." (The Car)

Tim turned his back towards Curly, going back into the notepad and frantically writing something down. Tim was known for journaling and keeping notes around the house. He said he always had the best ideas at night and didn't wanna forget them when he woke up.

"Mm. What do you need it for again?" Tim asked.

"I uh. I'm just going out."

There was a pause and Curly thought that Tim was gonna push him more on the subject. He was nervous, he didn't know how Tim would act knowing that Curly was going on a date during their time of distress, it was only a matter of time, maybe or week or so before Tiber noticed that the Oklahoma City kids wouldn't show up for their shipment.

"Keys on the table, be back before midnight."

"Gracias." Curly said quickly.

Curly went into his room to change before he left the house. As he pulled his shirt off he could hear Angela walk into his room and sit on her bed, squealing like a school girl.

"Curls, you going on a date?" She asks.

Curly shrugs and goes through his door and he can hear Angela jumping up and down, making the springs squeak on his bed. "C'mon twinny, gimme something. We tell each other everything!"

Curly rolled his eyes as he looked in the drawer. He was slightly annoyed he couldn't find anything other than a white t shirt, he really needed to expand his wardrobe. Daisy was probably tired of seeing the same damn white shirt. She always had something nice on, something that showed her legs. He wondered if she knew how nice her legs were.

"Don't ever say that shit again." Curly groans slightly. "Its not a date. We're just hanging out."

"What's she look like? I don't think I know a Daisy, where's she go to school?"

"Angel get out." Curly says as he pulls his shirt over his head.

"Curls please."

"I'll tell you when I get back. Promise." Curly says before reaching his outstretched pinky towards hers. "Lo juro por mi vida." (I swear on my life)

She quickly hooks her pinky around his, giggling as she does it. That had always been their thing, pinky promises. They started it ever since they could understand what a pinky promise was. They never knew that they'd need it, going on to be 17 but their recklessness needed to be kept a secret.

"Well you'd better."

Curly slams his door shut after she leaves and pulls on a black t shirt. It fits right and he makes a mental note to check if he's gotten any taller being that it was a hand me down t shirt from Tim. He pulls on a pair a jeans he didn't wear often, for special occasions, and his regular chucks taylors.

Curly saw Daisy where she said she'd be, standing on the corner with her little brother. He was an average kid, wearing a baseball cap and button up t shirt. He wondered if Daisy picked his outfits out, Gloriana Shepard always picked his outfits out. He never had the heart to tell her he hated how his outfit looked.

His breathing hitched as he did a double take at her. It was as if she was effortless at everything she did. Curly had forgot to park the car because he had zoned out staring at her. She was dressed in a nice blue sweater and a beige skirt. He took a deep breath before getting out the car.

"Hey." Curly said as he approached them.

"Hey, Curly! This is my little brother, James. James this is my friend Curly."

"Hey, kid." Curly greeted.

Curly liked kids. He thought they were funny and full of life and innocence. He always thought about how he'd like a few of his own, one day at least. For the most part he hadn't been around kids, he wasn't sure if his Tio's had any, and if they did they were probably bad dads just like uncles.

Curly opened the car door, James sat on the right and Daisy smushed herself between Curly and James in the middle. Curly wasn't expecting her to be so close, he could feel his heart racing at the smell of her vanilla perfume and her leg pushed against his.

"So you play any sports, kid?" Curly asks as he cranks the car on.

"I play a little baseball with my friends."

"No shit?! I used to play a little, I pitched 'cus they never expected mine." Curly said. "I hope you don't tell your old man I was cursing in front of you."

"Naw. I don't tell Pa much of nothing..You said you're a good pitcher, guess I'm gonna show you how's it done."

Curly laughs and shakes his head as they get on the highway and he notices that Daisy has a relieved smile on her face.

"One day, kid. So tell me about your sister, cus she don't tell me much." Curly teases.

"She can be a square sometimes. She sings in the bathroom a lot, she told me about you a few times too."

Daisy let's out a light shriek and pinches James in the arm, making Curly laugh. He can feel a light smile resting on his face at the thought of her mentioning him to James.

"Are you in a gang?" James asks.

"What makes you think that?"

"You've got tattoos. Daisy said people with tattoos are in gangs and Willy's got some too."

Curly can't hold in his laugh. He had random tattoos scattered throughout his body, only 2 of them were related to the Shepard Gang, the stick N poke and the crown he kept on his right bicep. The others were random ones he decided were a good idea at a point in his life.

"Maybe I am. I dunno." Curly shrugs.

"Dai keeps me away from gangs but she likes bad boys. She's such a phony." James sighed.

"Oh shut your trap, James. Don't question my ways of authority." Daisy replied before giving James another pinch in the arm.

James sucks his teeth and stares out the side window, attempting to move as far away as Daisy as he can. After a while it doesn't take him long to start talking again.

"So where we going?" He asks.

"I reckon we're going to an arcade." Curly replies.

Curly usually went to arcades when he was bored or he wanted to hideaway from everyone, then he'd try and beat Johnny Cade's pinball score for hours on end, forgetting about the drove farther out to an arcade closer to Oklahoma City, that way they didn't have to worry about running into Brumley or trouble. The arcade was a little mixed race town who knew Curly.

Curly saw the arcade sign and pulled into a parking spot. He held the door open for Daisy and James to squeeze out, Curly handed James a dollar to play a game once they get inside the building and James was out of their sight within seconds.

"I'm sorry about my brother." Daisy said with a sheepish from.

"Hey, that's how kid brothers are." Curly grins. "What's the first thing you wanna do?"

"I bet I could beat your arcade score."

Curly looks at Daisy with a fake shocked face, holding his hand to his heart. "All right, you're on, kid." Curly teased.

Curly let Daisy go first and she stood at the pinball machine, her little hands furiously moving around the buttons and controls to the pinball game, her eyes were glued to the screen as she saved the ball countless times and skillfully pulling her hair back without losing the game.

"Looks like I'm winning." She teases.

"It ain't over til' its over yet, mami."

Curly watched her face as she lightly blushed, losing focus for a minute before saving the ball and then losing it. She let out a light scream mixed in with a giggle and turned to face Curly.

"You jerk, I was really going." She laughs, lightly pressing her finger into his chest.

Curly chuckles and grabs her hand, his heart beating quickly as he does it. Her hand was tiny compared to his, the sight of it made him laugh of how it swallowed over hers. They didn't say anything for a few seconds, indulging in the feeling it brought to one another.

"Guess it's my turn then?" Curly said after a few moments.

"Guess so..good luck."

"Thanks, kid."

Curly let go of her hand and she quickly moved her hand to touch her cross necklace. There was a red tint behind her brown complexion as she looked away, her browns eyes once again scared to meet his.

Curly turned towards the pinball machine and started a new game. His eyes watched the screen closely, his top teeth biting on his bottom lip as he leaned forward and played the game. Curly kept his on the score so he was sure not to get higher than Daisy's score, it'd be unfair to win, he'd be going on all day if he could he was the second best player in Tulsa.

"Uh oh, Shepard. Gettin' nervous?" Daisy giggled as Curly almost lost the ball.

Curly chuckled before he let the handle go, losing the ball with only a few points behind her score. He turned to face her, the game music playing in the background.

"You let me win."

"Naw.. I guess you really could beat me score." Curly laughs.

Curly led Daisy to game after game, showing her how to play them and tricks to play them. Eventually he got bored and started cheating at the games, kicking the sides to make the score go up. After a few hours they found James sitting on the stool playing checkers with an older man. They all piled in the car around 9 o' clock and ate Dairy Queen in the parking lot.

"He's out like a light." Daisy commented was Curly pulled up in front of her house.

"We had quite a day." Curly replied. "I had a damn good time."

Daisy smiled slightly while looking over at Curly, his eyes quickly scanned over her lips. All he could think about was how they would feel against his. He could imagine that they were soft. He moved back slightly and took a deep breath. It wasn't the right time to kiss her, not now.

"Do you uh.. Need help with James?"

"God, yes." Daisy sighed with relief.

Curly opened the car door and threw the small boy over his shoulder. Daisy led Curly up the stairs to her house and unlocked the front door, opening it to a dark room only lit by the lamp on the table. Daisy motioned for Curly to leave James on the couch as she stood by the door.

"Thanks again, Curly, I had a great time."

"Thanks for agreeing to a date, kid."

"Well, goodnight." Daisy said, yawning a bit.

She smiled slightly and stepped up, standing on her toes to reach Curly and presses a warm kiss to Curly's check. Curly could feel his heart skipping, he felt like he had been blessed from God himself, her lips felt heavenly and he desperately wanted to grab her face and run his hands up her legs. He felt sinful yet again, a hood like him shouldn't have thoughts about a girl like that.

"Goodnight." She whispered again.

Curly walked to the car thinking about Mary Bates. The joke was on her.


	9. P U S H E R

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Curly finally gets around to pushing the product.

Hell, I wish it was Friday. Couldn't come faster." Angela groaned.

The Junior Shepard Gang was once again skipping class and being the delinquents they were known to be. Angela lounged on the heater, dramatically covering her face with her arm, despite that, Angela wasn't supposed to be in the Grass Room but Curly would always let her slide. Ed, Chris, and Curly always skipped sixth block, right after lunch to play cards and sell some grass, kids knew it was the best time to get it instead of hassling around to find them later.

"Friday's for pussies." Curly chuckled as he held a cigarette between his teeth and a few cards in his hands.

"At least I ain't afraid to give my date a kiss." Angela snorted.

"You ain't even supposed to be in here dumbass. Shut your trap before I tell Tim that I saw you and Johnny Cade fucking in the lot."

"Angie you was fucking Johnny Cade?" Chris asked with a smirk on his face.

"I wasn't!" Angela said quickly, sliding off the table quick to defend her case.

Curly was sure that he had seen Angela's hair tickling Johnny Cades shoulders. He wasn't thrilled that she was messing around with Johnny but it could've been worse, like Andrew or a rival gang member. Curly would keep his mouth shut just as long as she kept hers quiet too.

"Curly you went on a date?" Chris asks.

Chris throws out a heart and Curly tries not to roll his eyes, Christopher Jackson had to be the dumbest person that Curly had ever met. If Chris hadn't been such a good fighter, he wouldn't have made it into the Shepard Gang. Not only did the initiation process have some way or form of jumping you in, you had to have the brains to organize and execute your own job. Tim didn't want to test his chances with another gang snatching Chris so he took him before anything.

"Mind your business, Jackson." Curly said before throwing out a spade and cutting his heart.

"Yeah, he went on a date. And he didn't have the balls to kiss her."

Curly's cold blue eyes looked over at Angela's with a violent glare, she matched his face with the same glare, now propped up on her elbow with a satisfied smile. He felt bad for anyone who might cross paths with Angela, she could get anything she wanted, the thought of it was almost scary.

"You keep talking I'll fucking put you out."

"What's the big deal?" She replies, looking at her long red fingernails. "It ain't like I've never done a job before."

Curly slammed his cards on the table, holding himself back so he didn't lunge at her and yank her hair. "You was never supposed to do that job in the first place! You keep sneaking around and shit you'll find yourself d-"

"Curly someone's one the door." Ed said quietly.

Angela smiled with her painted red lips and she had once again won this fight. "Who is it?" He asked.

"I want the usual, yeah?" The voice sounded familiar but Curly couldn't remember exactly from where.

"You know the deal, slide it under."

The money slid through quickly along with a small piece of white paper with tiny capped writing on it. Curly didn't hesitate to slide the grass under the door, pocketing the five dollars and turning his back to the gang.

"How much we make today boss?" Ed asked.

"About 30 bucks. We still got the corners to work tonight."

We need to talk tmr. Same time&place .Brumley

Curly's expression hadn't changed but his heart began to beat quicker. Brumley was getting anxious and Curly still had yet to find out. Just there mere thought of Brumley coming up with a way to betray the Shepard Gang put Curly in a bag. He had a lot to sell and it would be damn near impossible to sell it in a week. He needed a partner, he thought of Connie, she was pretty and she could sell fast especially with having connections outside of Tulsa. But he couldn't trust that she'd take the supply and sell it all herself, leaving Curly with nothing and absolutely fucked.

"When do you guys think Tiber is gonna know we took their connection?" Ed asked.

"Fuck.." Curly said, he leaned against the hard wall and looked over Ed and Christopher. "Any day now. And don't go nowhere without your blades."

\-----------------------------------------------------------------

Around 9 that night, Curly nervously stood on the corner in a town that wasn't familiar to him. The breeze blew him around alittle as he carried the product on his back waiting for another chicano to show him how to sell it. Jose had put him into contact with some of his amigos from prison. The neighborhood was overwhelming to be in, he was surrounded by large magnificent buildings, just being here in thirty minutes was more than Curly had seen in a lifetime.

"You Jose's kin?" A voice asked.

He was Mexican, short, pudgy. He looked like those real Chicanos you find over in LA. Curly only dressed like that if it was a family gathering, the police would have a payday seeing him walk around like that. He wondered if he was actually from LA, the business was booming and he wouldn't be surprised if his Tios wanted to make a business move over there.

"And you are?" Curly asked.

"I'm who you're looking for. C'mon." He said while motioning his head.

Curly followed him but kept his hand on his blade. He could win this fight easily, as long as he could get him on the ground. Curly also took notice of his surroundings, Tim would always tell him "Pay attention to where you are" he'd never know when he needed to abort a job quick.

The Chicano stopped at an outside vendor that hadn't been opened yet, it stood on the side of the street, it reminded Curly of the rare time he visited New York to visit distant family. "The fuck are we doing here?"

"This is where you'll be pushing your product. Ain't like dope, you gotta do things officially...It's the only way to do it. Imagine a nice gringo coming down the street and seeing a chicano with a backpack on the corner. You'll be in cuffs within 2 minutes."

"What the fuck do I look like selling dust out of a vendor?"

The guy rolled his eyes. "You wanna sell it right? 'Sides, it's Thursday. Everyone knows it's angel night."

Curly grumbled and trudged into the vendor. Within hours, he had gotten the hang of the labor and he came to the realization that he'd never be able to actually do this work. He hated the way the customers looked at him, like he was nothing but scum on the side of the road. They even treated him like that, like he had to attend to their needs when they wanted it. That was one perk about being a Shepard, you got treated like fucking royalty.

"Can I get a hot dog with a side of Angel fruit?"

"Ang-. Oh. Yeah, it'll be a few seconds." Curly replied.

Curly put the hotdog on the grill and grabbed a brown paper bag. He reached under the grill to grab one of the prescription bottles, he looked to make sure it had everything and shoved it in the bag. He made the hotdog and added it to the bag, his eyes meeting his customer. They didn't look the type to buy cocaine from a vendor, they looked like a teacher or an attorney.

"It'll be 22.00."

The man looked around before handing over 25 dollars, grabbing the bag and hurrying off without his change. Curly noticed his outfit, he was dressed real nice, better than the socs even, how ironic that rich guys could buy coke from a hotdog vendor but poor greasers couldn't even walk down the street without being harassed by pigs. The system was fucked.

The chicano came to collect Curly around 10 o clock that night. Business was still moving but it was starting to get pushy and people wanted their drugs. The chicano stood watching Curly as he cleaned the grill and gathered his items. He had a long way back to Tulsa, and he'd be lucky if Tiber didn't jump him on the way home. The only comforting thought was that he had more money to ask Daisy on another date, he sure did miss that vanilla perfume and her pink lips.

"Damn ese. You're a natural at this."

"Guess I am." Curly said while packing his bag.

"Coming back?" The Chicano asked while leaning against the side of the vendor.

"Only til the product is sold out. I'm making this a one time thing."

The Chicano chuckled loudly at Curly's statement, lightly shaking his head. "It ain't gonna be just once." He says with a scary tone.

Curly lightly pulled the skin on his lip as he felt the chill in his body. He grabbed his bag and threw it over his shoulder, looking the Chicano up and down. For the first time that night Curly noticed he had an ugly scar under his eye.

"Night ese."

"Good luck, Shepard." the Chicano said, but it felt like a warning.

Curly didn't reply, he kept walking until he reached the stop and counted his profit in his bag. He debated on keeping $20, there's no way Jose would know and it wasn't as if he did any work. Jose had boys to sell his product, he was a lazy dealer. Curly wondered if his tio's would ever start a war with Jose, he didn't have much going, especially because he just got out of Prison, but taking him down before he became a threat seemed like the better option.  
\------------------------------------------------------------

Curly was never sure if he liked Friday's. He liked school believe it or not, and the weekend always held so much promise. But it was always unpredictable. Curly watched as Brumley showed up, clean, classy, and smooth like always. Curly bit on his bottom lip as he analyzed them, Angela did the same thing when she was thinking. Like the Shepard Gang, Brumley didn't let just anyone have a spot in the gang.

"Where's the fire?" Curly joked.

He smoked on his cigarette, inhale, exhale.

Curly stared at the Brumley boys and they looked back at him. He wondered if they were just as curious as him about the other. They were business partners and just that, the groups would never know about the other's personal life, it was bad for business. If Willy ever found out about Daisy and him, he'd be fucked high and dry. He knew it was a risk but he wasn't letting those soft lips get away from him that fast. There wasn't much Willy could do, but if Brumley found it in their power to have a say so then they would,

Willy stood on the right, leaning against the locker. His small afro was shaped nicely and growing. Curly had a strange feeling of power, it felt good knowing something the other didn't.

"What the fuck do you guys want with the coke?" Curly asked suddenly.

"We want it off our hands." Chuck said cooly. "You're helping us make a big problem go away."

Curly blew out his smoke in their direction and in some cases it would be considered disrespect. But Brumley knew just as well as Curly that the appearance of looking tough was far more important.

"So that's it? No money? No nothing?"

Chuck shrugged, a light smile playing on his face. "We don't want no money we want it gone. How's it coming."

He couldn't put a finger on it but he knew that Brumley was up to something. The thought of giving pure cocaine away and not having anything in return was preposterous. Curly needed ears, Daisy would be good ears and Connie would make a good one too. He'd have to think on it, talk to Connie again as much as he didn't want to. He was going to figure out what they were up to, a war with Brumley and Tiber's would set them back far.

"Bueno. Good."

"Then I guess we're good." Chuck smiled.

"Guess so.."


	10. P I N K L I P S

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Curly finds himself attached to pink lips.

"Here's your- oops!" Daisy yelped once she noticed Curly was sitting in the booth.

Her face had a pink tint hiding behind her brown skin tone and a bashful look took over her facial expressions."Sorry about that. Here's your cokes."

She handed the drinks out and the basket of fries before smoothing her skirt and quickly walked behind the counter. Curly smiled as he bit on his thumb, looked her over one - a few times before averting his gaze to Tim to listen to his next "big" plan. It involved the River Kings.

"I need to be able to trust you vatos, yeah? Hell, Shepard Gang's got so much shit on the table right now we can't afford to mess up." Tim blew out a breath and ran his fingers through his complicated black hair. "..heard Connie Winston's been poking her nose around looking for a job - fucking puta."

Curly sighed as leaned on his elbow trying to halfway tune Tim and his rantings out of his head. It wasn't as if Tim was going to take Curly's advice, or even listen to it, hell his portion of the meeting was finished. Take the stolen car parts from the River Kings, that was a cake walk and Curly could do it in broad daylight. The only thing that was actually entertaining Curly were the fries Daisy set on the table, food was a comfort.

His eyes wandered to Daisy coming from behind the counter, a smile resting on his face as he admired her walk and those gorgeous legs she had. It had been a long while since he had seen her and he was missing the nervous giggle she had. He felt stupid behind this hung up over a girl and he hadn't even kissed her yet.

However, he had always just missed her whenever he showed up at her school. Her girl friend Karen would always tell him she was at church, it made him wonder who the hell went to church that often and was she just trying to avoid him. Gloriana Shepard had once been very devoted to her good catholic well being and her visits hardly met Daisy's. He guessed that was just Daisy's thing, he was sure people said the same thing about him and gang banging.

"Curly what the f-" Tim began, his cold blue eyes turning to find just exactly what was taking away Curly's undivided attention. "Pay the fuck attention. You can go chase pussy another time."

Jimmy let out a laugh as Curly scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I said be careful with this job, if you get caught then you know they're gonna want a rumble."

"Dios mio, I been trying to catch you all week." Curly said to Daisy.

Curly had waited outside for Daisy's shift to end. She came outside quickly, a cigarette between her small fingers. He tried thinking back to if he had ever seen her smoking but it made him feel more comfortable. It made him feel less shitty.

"Sorry, I had church."

"You got church everyday?" Curly chuckled as he opened his lighter, Daisy leaned down slightly, lighting her cigarette and sitting on the bench, legs crossed together proper like.

He looked down at Daisy sitting on the bench before joining her and sitting next to her, close enough to smell her perfume her vanilla perfume. Close enough to kiss her. His heart thumped but he took a deep breath and looked the opposite way.

"No." She giggled. "Well, I guess. It's only because of the drive, we're getting old coats for people who can't afford them."

"Well shit. Guess I can't complain then."

The thought of donations made Curly think of his Abuela, he hadn't known her of course, it was the made up Abuela, the one that comforted him in his times of distress. Made Up Abuela was nice, she was kind, she did stupid things like donations.

"I wanted to see if you wanted to go out again." Curly said slowly.

"Maybe.." She said.

Curly's stomach turned at her sentence, maybe? Chicks never turned him down with a maybe, and Daisy doing it actually kind of hit him in his heart. Did she think he was ugly? Curly wasn't one to be vain or anything but he knew he had to be at least somewhat good lucking for girls to be chasing him.

"I was just fooling." She laughed, stubbing her cigarette out and rubbing her hands together. "I had a lot of fun..Where we going?"

"You wanna go now?!"

He was supposed to meet up with guys for cards but the look on her face and they way her brown eyes were sparkling from the light was making him think of a change of plans. Her necklace moved slightly as she nodded her head and for a moment Curly became stuck, he hadn't snapped out of it until the light reflecting from the necklace hit him in the eye. He sat up and cleared his throat before replying

"Alright, well we could go to the lot. I ain't have anything planned."

"This is where everyone come's to think." Curly explained once he reached the lot.

"Glory, the stars look huge." Daisy reveled, pointing up at the sky with amusement.

They sat on the hood of an old abandoned car, their shoulders just barely touching once again as they looked up at the sky. The sky had a weird lingering light, despite it being 8 o clock and already dark. Autumn was Curly's least favorite, the cold made him depressed and he felt as if he were drowning. Not to mention his haunting memories from New Jersey.

"So that was your brother right?"

Curly nodded as he looked over at her. "My brother and my best friend Jimmy."

"Are you guys close? You and Tim?" Daisy asked.

Curly frowned as he thought about the last argument they had. He hadn't even remembered what it was about, it was the night after he sold the dust and it went on for hours. He couldn't figure out why they argued, Tim was always cold. Tim locked himself in a prison and never allowed anyone to get in and he never allowed himself to get out. It made Curly wonder, was that what he was protecting him from?

"Not really, we used to be but we grew apart." Curly explained.

Curly looked over at Daisy, her face was blank. Her tongue moved over her bottom lip slightly, Curly watched it for a few moments, halfway turned on from the movement and her pink lips.

"Have you ever kissed anyone?" Curly asked nonchalantly, reaching up to dig his fingers in his dangerous curls. He regretted the question as soon as he asked it, it wasn't that he didn't want to know. But he probably offended her, she was catholic. Catholic girls were good.

Daisy's sucked on her bottom lip as she let out a nervous laugh, her cross necklace hanging as she leaned on her hands. "I haven't kissed anyone in a while." She admitted.

Her eyes looked up and met his but she quickly looked away, grabbing onto her necklace like she always did and tugging on it. "One person though, Oliver. That was a mess."

She looked back up at Curly, still toying with the gold necklace as he looked at her eyes, then her lips. Daisy blushed from the close contact between her and Curly but he brought her chin back to face him and leaned in to kiss her.

Her lips were warm and soft and the kiss was everything he imagined it would be. He could feel his heart beating through his chest as he held her cheek, the hair rising on his arms. The kiss was slow and sweet, it seemed like only Daisy could have that kind of kiss.

"God, I'm sure that's considered a sin." Daisy says once they pulled apart.

She clutched the necklace the whole time, only moving it after the kiss to touch her lips.

"Nothing different from the sins we do everyday." Curly muttered as he brought her face back to his. Indulging himself in her scent and her lips.

Curly had met the Jimmy outside of Benny's around nine. Benny's had just closed so he leaned against the wall, a smile resting on his face as he thought up making out with Daisy. He ended up walking her home after about an hour, promising to call her. He had about an hour to finish the job before Tim was calling every convenience store in Tulsa.

"What's got you smiling, carnal?" Jimmy asked as he approached Curly in a car he never saw before.

"Naw, nothing man." Curly replied as he sat in the passenger seat of the car, the car was nice, but it was old. It must have belonged to the older Shepard Gang members so they'd have more room to put the car parts in. The job was easy, they'd be waiting for a kid at the River Kings territory with stolen car parts, Curly would stash them in the drunk and they'd drive off.

"Must've been with a chica or something, right? Guess that's why you skipped card night." Jimmy snickered as he began driving.

"Mind your business, Jim." Curly replied while flicking his eyes towards Jimmy, finger running over a scab on his hands.

Jimmy let out a sarcastic laugh as Curly looked out the window. The rain had just started, and the sound of thunder could be heard a few distances away.

"You need to tell Connie to mind her business. I know what Brumley's got you up to."

"How do you know about that?" Curly replied, damn near choking on his gum.

Jimmy had a scrunched up face, as if he heard the information and was waiting for Curly to confirm it was true. Curly felt even more ashamed that he lied to his best friend.

"You're gonna get caught. Tim's gonna find out."

Curly's heart dropped at the thought of it. It was clear. Absolutely no selling cocaine. He wondered what Tim would do, kick his ass? Tell Los Tios? It wasn't as if he could tell them no, he was saving their alliance with Brumley.

"He won't find out if you don't tell him." Curly snapped. "I can't afford to lose Brumley's alliance."

"I won't tell him." Jimmy replied with a pained expression. "But Brumley ain't doing it for a favor you know."

The pained face went away as soon as it came, greasers weren't supposed to feel emotions. Curly took a deep breath and exhaled. Funny how a night could go sour quickly. Jimmy parked at the car at the back of the junkyard garage thinking of Jimmy's words. "But Brumley ain't doing it for a favor, you know."

Apart of Curly always knew that, Brumley was desperate, damn near begging him to sell the dust. They wanted it gone but for no exact reason. Curly's stomach turned as he weighed the situation, his hand on the door handle but yet to get out, a thought running through his mind, blood, a gun, drugs. What the hell did he get himself into?

Curly Shepard had once again become stuck in time.


	11. S H O C K

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Curly becomes shocked when he goes to a party.

"Hijo de puta." Curly hissed as he touched the tender bruise below his eye.

Once again Curly Shepard had fucked something up and he dealt with it by sulking around in his room, staring up at the ceiling and icing his face with frozen peas. It was only a few hours ago when Tim had Curly pressed to the wall, his fist wrapped up in Curly's loose shirt as he barked out orders, telling Curly he'd fight the River King's best fighter, Marco. All because he was too dumb and lazy to check if they were completely alone when stealing the car parts. There were no ill feelings between him and The River Kings, he got caught, he had to pay up. That's how it was.

"Damn, he did a job on you." Angela said from the doorway, lazily leaning in, her hair looking as if she grabbed a pair of scissors and sawed it off in a fit of frustration.

Angela was always battling with her hair ever since Bryon had cut it off that night. He figured she never got over it.

"And someone did a job on your hair. Mind your fucking business." Curly spat.

Curly wasn't anywhere near upset with Angela and if his ego hadn't been bruised he probably would've laughed. The rumble went fine and Curly knew he whooped him good, but his fight was flawed and Marco caught him off guard a few times. They gang would never say anything disrespectful about the fight, they knew better than that, but it was still embarrassing he had been caught in the first place, especially one he was so used to doing.

"I guess you don't want no smoothie then." Angela said sassily, moving from the doorway and into the kitchen.

Curly sat up slightly, grimacing when he felt the pain in his stomach from the good kick Marco gave him. He would've been icing that too if they had more ice packs, and Curly cared more about the swelling on his face making him look stupid. He didn't care so much for the bruise, he'd get more attention that way. He craved attention, it made him feel special, or wanted even. Tim always said it was because he didn't get enough at home. Which was true, Los Tios never wanted to be bothered with him when he was a kid, when he got older they were only concerned with his addition to the gang. "Wait, what flavor?"

"Strawberry." She replied.

Curly sat up as Angela came back into the room transferring half her smoothie in a glass from the kitchen. The sound of the door being unlocked made Curly tense up, he hadn't talked to Tim since the fight and he hadn't even uttered a 'good job' after Curly won. Curly felt stupid to even be expecting it in the first place, it wasn't as if he deserved it, he was just fixing the mess he already made.

"Hey," Jimmy said as he appeared in Curly's door.

He was cold and a little bit stand-offish. Curly hadn't talked to Jimmy either ever since the night of the stolen car parts. They only spoke in passing, the other not wanting to bring up what the issue was. Angela greeted Jimmy and disappeared out of the room leaving Jimmy leaning awkwardly on the wall, his hair falling into his face as he stared down on the floor.

"Que paso?"

"I guess we should talk.." Jimmy said quietly.

He walked in the room, kicking it shut with his foot so Angela couldn't hear and sat on Curly's bed. The house was quiet, not even the sound of the TV was playing from the living room. It was weird to hear the Shepard's house become so quiet, especially since Ma hadn't been home. "So." Jimmy mumbled.

"So." Curly replied, staring at the hole in his sock. "Still mad at me?"

"I ain't mad at you..I'm Irritated. Tim'll find out, y'know he will. But you coulda fucking told me, ese. Coulda helped you." Jimmy huffed out, he kept his eyes on the floor as if that was far more interesting than looking Curly in the eyes.

Curly's mind wandered to the "Gold old days" when he was still a chico not yet corrupted by the horrors of the world. The days where he, Jimmy, and Ed would sit outside of Curly's house because he wasn't allowed to go far and Tim was too busy to take him for ice cream so he drank home made lemonade. Tim's shirt hanging off of him because he couldn't afford to buy new clothes and they were almost the same size..almost. Curly was always skinnier than Tim.

"Remember those days? Sitting out there, drinking fresh lemonade from Gabriella's stand?" Curly asked Jimmy.

Jimmy let out a chuckle as he finally looked up at Curly. "Hell yeah, Gabriella and her fine ass."

Curly let out a deep breath before he looked at Jimmy seriously. "Tim can't find out about this shit. I'm tryna get rid of it."

Jimmy nodded slowly before taking a deep breath. "Well you ain't in this alone man. You need help, say the word, dig?"

Curly nodded, halfway smiling at Jimmy and Jimmy giving him a smile back. Jimmy would always have his back, he knew that. He could trust that. And it felt good.

"You wanna go to a party?"

When Curly, Jimmy, Angela got to the party it was in it's prime time. It was swinging, everyone had been shoulder to shoulder, it was difficult for them to even get through. The place reeked of weed, booze, and sweaty bodies. Angela had broke off to go find Johnny or Sylvia, he hadn't remembered which one. The sound of latin music was booming from somewhere in the back as couple were pressed closely together, moving their bodies in sync and laughing.

"I wasn't expecting to see you here, Charlie."

"What're you my stalker?" Curly asked while turning around to face Connie.

Connie laugh, throwing her head back dramatically as if she were an actress. Her laugh was genuine, mostly. It obvious she was in a good mood. Or at least it looked like she was. "Maybe.." Connie shrugs,

Connie twirls around seductively, she smells like perfume. Like flowers. Her hair was tied into a bun, held in place by black bobby pins. Her plump lips are painted a bright red. Curly can't deny it, she looks good.

"The fuck do you want, Connie? I got shit to do." Curly mutters as he looks around the crowd, half of the crowd was already drunk and high, getting them to buy more would be no problem. He could walk out with more than half of his product gone.

"Can I help?" Connie asks seductively, she presses her lips together. Curly scoffed at the way she presented herself, using her body and looks to get what she wanted. He could see her now, running off with the product and either selling it or keeping it for herself. "No way, chica."

Curly pushes passed her but she grabs his arm tightly to keep him in place. Curly looks at her fingers wrapped around his wrist, holding on for dear life as if he was the only thing keeping her from dying. "Can we talk?" She pleaded, desperation on her tongue.

Curly looks around the party, he can see that Jimmy is handling the selling but Curly wasn't on the best of terms with Tim right now and he needed to gain his trust back. After this night, there was a good chance Curly would get Tim to at least acknowledge him. "Let's make it quick, Connie."

Connie leads Curly into an empty room, a drink in her hand and a cigarette positioned between her fingers. She flicks on the light to the small room, only a bed and a small nightstand in there. Now that Curly isn't smashed against her and the light is bright, he can see she had a tight black dress on. Connie sits on the bed but Curly stands a few feet away from her. "Talk."

"I just.." Connie began before stopping, blowing out a breath and shaking her head. "I really need a job."

Curly rolls his eyes at the sight, she was pitiful. "Didn't I tell you to fuck off Connie? I ain't giving you a job! You fucked me over last night."

"Damn Curly, you don't gotta be so mean." Connie says, tears begin to form in her eyes and Curly feels almost guilty. Almost. "Everything's fucked up alright? You're the only person I can talk to right now." Connie sobs.

Her mascara is beginning to run in dark streaks down her face, it passes her lips and she wipes at it with her hand which makes the lipstick smear. Curly can't help but laugh when she's not looking, she looks like a clown. He sighs and sits down next to her when she doesn't ease up on the crying. It was strange to see Connie cry, she was tough and hard. He guessed everyone had a breaking point or a time to be vulnerable.

"Dally hates me and I'm pretty much on my own. Everyone thinks I'm some cheap whore. My parents don't want jack shit to do with me." Connie says as she cries into her hands.

Curly fiddles with his hands as he looks over at her, trying to find the words to comfort her. "I'm sure that ain't true."

"I miss you, Curly. What we had was good." Connie says.

Curly doesn't reply because he doesn't know how to reply. He hated when chicks started crying and he would've left if it had been anyone else, anyone other than Dallas Winston's kid sister. He'd stay for Daisy too, although he didn't feel he could bare the sight of Daisy crying. He'd fight anything that made her upset. Connie looks up at Curly, her cold blue eyes sparkling with desperation. She needed attention, she was probably craving it. Curly was taken by surprise when she leaned in to kiss him, pressing her cold lips against his. He could feel that cracks from her dry lips as she moved her mouth against his. Curly didn't like the way it felt. He felt guilty. He hadn't been dating Daisy but he still felt guilty.

"Connie, stop." Curly said as he pushed her away, her eyes widening from the rejection. "Fucking cut it out."

"You don't want me?" Connie sobbed.

"Curly! Lo tienen! Ay, cabron! They got Ed!" Chris said while barging into the small room.

"Que?" Curly asked, jumping to his feet, ignoring Connie trying to fix herself up.

Chris stood there frantically, breathing heavy and the words barely coming out of his mouth as he repeated they got Ed. Curly grabbed Chris by the shoulders, holding them tightly and shaking him.

"Fuck, vato, who got him?" Curly asked "Speak, Chris. Quien?"

Chris stopped rambling and breathed in one deep breath, 2 deep breaths before looking up at Curly, horror filling his face. "He ain't dead is he?"

"Naw.. He was jumped, Tiber Gang..the got em'. He's down at Andrew's place now."

Curly pushed passed Chris and ran out the hall into the big crowd. "Where's Angie and Jimmy?" Curly yelled over the music.

"They're outside." Chris replied, quickly on Curly's heels.

"C'mon ese, we can't be alone right now. Let's go."

Curly blindly drove to the other side of town. Angela sat in the passenger seat, her fingers pinching the bridge of her nose. She had still been in shock from the news. Chris sat in the back seat with Jimmy, who had been cool even in the time of distress. Chris had finally calmed down after they had gotten in the car. Curly parked at Andrew's place and turned the car off, everyone running up the steps and into the house. Ed was on the floor in the living, surrounded by droplets of blood that would stain the tan carpet. The sight of Ed's face was disgusting, and Curly would've been sick at the sight if he wasn't used to it. The days of Ma coming home sporting a new colored purple face came flashing back into his mind made Curly immune to the sight.

Ed's eyes were closed because they were swollen shut. His tan face was a mix of black, purple, and blue. Blood oozed out the corner of his mouth and a long scratch was on his face that drew blood. Ed wasn't conscious but he was moaning from the pain and mumbling gibberish. Curly wondered how Ed's parents and siblings would react, they needed him.

"Que paso?" Curly asked, inching in to get closer to the gang.

"Tiber found the opportunity and jumped on it. Ed's gonna be out for a while now, we gotta make sure we look out for his sisters." Tim replied as re-positioned the blanket draped across Ed's waist. Tim turned towards the gang, eyes dark and glowing with a vengeance. Curly already knew his gears were grinding to come up with a devious plan, the perfect comeback. Even though Tim was angry with him, he felt proud and he was in awe at the ability of Tim to be as smart as he was and a leader. "As for you guys. No walking alone, in or outta turf. He's lucky they didn't have a blade. Probably woulda shanked him and left him bleeding out."

It wouldn't have been the first time. The Shepard Gang had lost a member before from a turf war. They were too late when they got to him and he died once he reached the hospital.

"What's our next move?" Curly asked.

"We fight back."


	12. D E E P

"We can't just charge at 'em." Tim sighed as he pushed his fingers through his greasy hair.

Curly sat on Tio Angel's old ripped-up arm chair with his feet up on the footrest. He was drinking a beer slowly as he listened to Emiliano, Angel, and Javier advised Tim for what the next move would be against the Tiber Street Tigers. The past week had been tense and Tim had been acting like a madman trying to keep everything in order. Curly hadn't been allowed to take part in anything gang related. He was on "probation". Instead, he was stuck babysitting Ed and nursing him back to health. Curly didn't mind, Ed was like another brother to him and once you got passed his monotone voice, he could actually be quite funny. Tim hadn't eased up on the rule that Shepard Gang couldn't travel alone, he had Antonio and Jimmy following Curly around town as if he'd get lost. He needed to get to Jose's side of town to finish what he started. He had been itching to sell and get rid of the coke, he had almost been finished with it but he needed an excuse to get down there.

"It's gotta be quiet.. something that'll really put them down and teach 'em a lesson."

"You could just take em out, Timmy." Emiliano suggested.

Curly nearly choked on his beer. He had grown up listening to the horrors of violence but talking about killing someone made the hair stand up on his arms. He knew what they were capable of, it would be damn near impossible if they had never killed anyone. Back on those days, to get initiated it required killing someone to show your loyalty. Tio Javier had skipped town plenty of times with the help of his other Tio's because someone had gone missing. Curly was all for fights but murder? People had family relying on them, friends who cared about him. The thought made him sick and based Tim's face, it made him sick too.

Tim shook his head. "No. That ain't the solution." Tim sighed once again. "I'll figure it out."

"Curly, you got anything to say?" Angel asked.

Curly shook his head but Tim but in before he could even manage to get a word out. "He don't have a say so. Keep your scrawny ass outta this." Tim ordered, his cold eyes staring at Curly once again.

Once again he was Tim's bitch. What he said went and there wasn't a point in trying to get around it. Curly rolled his eyes and slammed his beer on the table before dramatically storming out the living room. The screen door slammed with a thud and Curly went to sit on the front steps of his Tio's house. It was bullshit the way Tim had him on a leash, like he was kid who couldn't think for himself. He'd be 17 soon and he knew how to handle himself. He had his own hustle that was problem worth more than Tim's.

Curly heard the screen door open and slam. It must've been one of his Tio's coming to check on him. "Things been rough 'tween you and Timmy?"

It was Angel, he had always been Curly's favorite. The realest one who had nothing but raw truth.

Curly could hear him light a cigarette from behind him but he didn't sit down. "I would get next to you. But my knee." Angel said before tapping on his fake leg. It sounded like wood.

"Esta bien." Curly said, rubbing his eyes. "How'd you get that anyway?"

Angel let out a chilling laugh. One that Curly swore was bringing Angel down his own memory lane. "Me and mis amigos, playing around as kids. Broke into your momma's school and the janitor blew my leg off."

"What was my mom like when she was younger?" Curly asked, he turned so he could see Angel's face. His eyes were dark brown, they ran on the Garcia side of the family. Eyes so dark they were almost black. He got his blue ones from his Papi.

Angel shrugged as he leaned against the concrete wall and stared down at his nephew. "Tu mama.. She was real sweet as a kid. Laughing. Nicest heart."

Curly decided not to press the topic anymore. Talking about his mom was rough because he wanted to hate her, as much as she fucked his life up. He grew up poor, bounced from home to home for her selfish needs. Through all that he still couldn't bring himself to hate her.

Angel looked over at Curly, his lips pressed together with a look that said 'Lets get to the point' "What's going on with you and Timmy?"

Curly shrugged. If he was being honest he was tired of talking about Tim. It was tedious. Everything was about Tim and it was just a reminder Curly would probably never be as important as Tim. However, it wasn't an option to not talk about it. They were complicated and he knew they'd always be confident. "We just don't get along, dig?"

"Bullshit." Angel snorted, eyes looking at the sky. There was a full moon. "He's your blood, don't let stupid shit turn your back on your brother. Entiendes?"

Curly didn't agree but he nodded out of respect. Tim should've been having the same conversation. He wasn't doing much on his part and Curly mostly stayed out of his way. It was better that way, they wouldn't argue. If they did, it'd lead to a fight.

"So why'd you turn your back on Jose?" Curly asked curiously.

All the talk about brothers got Curly thinking. Angel, Emiliano, and Javier had all turned their backs on Jose. He wasn't family, not anymore. Angel snickered as he looked down at Curly, an Uncle looking to his nephew. He put his hand on Curly's shoulder, like a father to a son. This was a rare moment for Curly, his father had never done it. "You ain't gonna understand.. too young."

Curly wanted to tell him he wasn't too young. That he'd be 17 soon and it just felt like everyone forgot and they keep treating him like a baby. But there wasn't any point to waste his breath.

They didn't care.

Later that night Curly found himself thinking of Daisy Johnson. It was 9:45 and he was the only person home. Curly hadn't seen her in days, only in passing where she'd give him a small smile and he'd give her a smirk. He was too busy to stay after her shift and she'd be long gone if he got the chance to show up. He figured Willy must've caught the news and had been taking her home early. It had only been a few months of Curly knowing Daisy and he couldn't put his finger on why he was drawn to her. She was always on his mind. Not necessarily dirty thoughts, which he had quite often on nights he couldn't sleep or when he was thinking in school. But random ones. He'd find himself wondering what she was doing or how her day was and if she was thinking about him too.

Curly's thoughts were cut off when the phone in the kitchen began to ring. Curly left his bed to pick it up."Hello?"

"Hey man, it's Jimmy. I caught a Brumley leaving River Kings territory."

"You sure he's Brumley?"

"Positive."

"Not in a while."

"What d'ya want me to do boss?"

"Hold him there." Curly replied before hanging up the phone.

He rested his head against the cracked wall and took a deep breath. Curly slid his jacket on and walked out the door. There wouldn't be a good reason for Brumley to meet up with the River King's. They were rivals and the River King's didn't like black kids. The only thing Curly could put together that The River King's need something really important from Brumley.

Curly got to the park quickly. The park was deserted, and Jimmy had been cornering the Brumley kid in the crook of a brick wall.

Who are you working for?" Curly asked as he pushed Jimmy back to get into the kids face.

The kid looked to be around 15. His bottom lip quivered and it was obvious he was scared. It almost made Curly feel guilty, when he was 15 he hadn't been scared of anything. The kid looked him in his eyes, trying not to show his nervousness. The kid had guts and Curly admired that. This game wasn't for him.

"Want me to fucking cut you? Answer me, estupido!"

"Look, I don't want trouble alright? Some kid passed it to us, they knew we could be taken it down for it. Kicked out our group, dig? We ain't trying to fuck up the alliance."

"Who gave it to you?" Curly pressed.

"The River Kings, someone's been bitching them. Someone from another gang, they're tryna take Shepard Gang out through us. If we fall, y'all fall. Willy thought it'd be smarter because y'know, you ain't like a regular chicano and you could get rid of it fast. Dig?"

Curly had always thought that Willy wasn't the brightest in the bunch but the plan he put together was smart. It was along the lines of something Tim would do. It made Curly wonder why Willy didn't have a bigger role in the Brumley Gang. He wasn't new or anything.

Curly loosened his grip on the kids neck but still left him leaned into the wall. "Don't let me see you again, got it?"

The kid nodded and bolted down the grass of the park. Curly chewed on his lip before turning to Jimmy.

"How the fuck am I gonna tell Tim?" Curly asked while leaning his head against the brick wall. "Maybe I could tip him off somehow."

"Whatever you decide, I'm with you." Jimmy said, his hand touching Curly's shoulder.

The two walked to Susie's to get a milkshake and to talk about what Curly should do next. The Shepard Gang was at an advantage if Curly told Tim because they'd be one step ahead. But the Brumley alliance would be rocky considering the fact that Junior Brumley was hiding important information from them. Curly also would be in trouble or possible kicked out due to his dishonesty. There wasn't much he could do but at least he had a few days to make the best decision. He wondered what Jose would think and if he could get him out the predicament.

"Gee..I think it's safe to say you've been ignoring me." Daisy said when she found Curly smoking a cigarette outside of Susie's.

Daisy stood with her hands folded together in front of her. She had her uniform on and a jacket that looked like a males jacket around her shoulders. She had red lipstick on her plump lips and her brown eyes were brought out in the night. Curly wondered who she got the jacket from, it looked to out of style's to Willy's.

"Nah.. I ain't mean to." Curly says as he moves towards her.

Daisy smiles with a smug expression. As much as Curly wanted to say he hadn't been avoiding her, he knew it would be lying. He couldn't stand to see her wrapped up in this kind of mess that he caused. She wouldn't understand anything about it and he didn't want her to. It was best she didn't know that much, she could be used.

"I've been busy." Curly frowns.

"That's alright. I get."

"You look..you look nice." Curly manages to stamper out. "Tuff jacket." He adds. He knew he was being petty, and he had no reason to be jealous. But the thought of her wearing some random kids jacket made him go sour. He knew that she didn't owe him any explanation, especially because Connie kissed him and she didn't know about it. He didn't want her to know either.

Daisy smiles and looks down before looking back up at Curly, her cheeks turning pink. "This? Oh, it's an old thing, I grabbed it by accident." She said quickly.

Curly smiles at her awkwardness and how she stampers over her words. "It's alright, Dais."

"Dais?"

"Yeah.. figured I'd give you a nickname." Curly grinned. "Hey, you wanna go out for a coke Monday night?"

"I'm with Willy and James Monday. I can Tuesday." She suggested.

Curly nodded. Tuesday would go just fine.


	13. B L O S S O M S

"I gotta say, you're pretty damn good at this." Tio Jose says as he takes a sip from his glass of water.

Curly sits on the couch as his Tio sorts through the cash. Curly attempts to hide his frown, he knows he shouldn't feel good about it but he can't help that he does. It was foreign for someone to actually appreciate Curly for what he's done. Tim would never say anything positive about Curly's achievements.

As Curly thinks of the praise, he lets himself smile instead. His day couldn't possibly get better. He finished selling the cocaine and he actually made a lot of money from it. Afterwards, he'd go on his date with Daisy that he had been waiting for for a few days. He had been thinking about getting a kiss from her again, that possibly was the only thing that didn't get him discouraged from doing what he needed to do.

"Gracias, Jose."

Jose walks closer to Curly to rustle his hair around. The act was also foreign to him, and Tim hadn't done that to Curly since he was a kid. Affection just didn't exist anymore.

"You ever think about selling more? I know a guy and we could make some good money."

Curly shook his head at the request. The thought of doing it again put him on edge. He wasn't close to being caught but maybe it was because he got lucky. He wanted it to be over with but he didn't mind seeing Jose. Especially with all that trouble he stirred up with the gang war, he wanted to be around him now more than ever.

"Nah but thanks for the offer."

Jose smiles and shrugs. "Offer still stands, kid."

"Hey, Jose?" Curly asked as he turned to look at his uncle.

"Si?"

"What do you do if you're being blackmailed?" Curly asked, he turned his eyes back to the TV. He felt embarrassed for even asking.

He could hear his Tio striking a match to light his cigarette. "You being blackmailed, kid?"

Curly didn't reply at first until he got a smack to the back of his head that made him flinch. "Aye chico. Answer me." he said sternly.

Curly turned to look at him before huffing a deep breath.

"Alright.. Tim's got an alliance with these kids. They asked me to get rid of the coke and I did it so our alliance wouldn't get fucked. We're in the middle of a war with Tiber because we stole their connection. Turns out, Tiber is trying to make us fall through Brumley so we're weak when they attack. Tim don't know and I don't know if I should tell him. I'll fuck everything up."

Angel stared at Curly, his eyes squinted because he was thinking. He then stared at Curly before blowing his smoke out in Curly's direction.

"You need to tell, Tim." Angel said order.

Curly's stomach sank. He knew he had to tell him or one of them would end up dead next time.  
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"I'm sorry I'm late." Curly said as he rushed to the back booth.

He had picked a random restaurant in between all the neighborhoods where he had seen a lot of people go. On the way back from Angel's, Curly had decided he'd tell Tim after his date with Daisy. If he dragged it out any longer, he'd stress himself out more than he needed to. He knew seeing Daisy would cheer him up.

Daisy had on a fitting striped black and white dress with a red ribbon holding her hair back. Her cross necklace laid neatly across her chest.

"Thats alright." She replies softly.

"I had to rush home." Curly explained. "You look real nice."

Daisy smiled as her eyes traveled down and looked towards the table. Curly knew she was embarrassed so he reached his hand across the table to hold it over hers. "You're blushing," Curly stated.

Daisy let out a nervous laugh, her eyes randomly flicking back up to meet his eyes and going away. "I know, I'm sorry. I just.." She trailed off before shrugging.

Her eyes once again flicked back up to meet his blue eyes. He couldn't help but stare back, quickly forgetting about everything that was bothering him and stressing him.

"There's people staring."

Curly turned to look over his shoulder, his eyes scanning over the crowd. Snickers and frowns were pasted on their faces but they quickly looked away after he glanced at them. He thought the place would be more diverse. He wouldn't keep her there if they didn't want them there.

"We can leave then. They're a bunch of losers anyway." Curly laughed, trying to lighten the situation. "C'mon."

Curly stood up from the booth and Daisy followed. They walked closely together while Curly slugged an arm randomly around Daisy's shoulders. He could feel her tense at first, before calming down. He was so close he could smell her perfume.

"I like coming here to think." Curly explained as he reached an old factory building. "Watch your step."

He held her climb up the ladder before following her up to the roof. Once they got to the top, they both looked up at the sky in awe. Everything had been clear and you could see all of Tulsa. Curly liked the height, except for the Ferris Wheel at fairs. As kids, Tim would shake the car and it made Curly never like them again. Just the thought of it made him sick.

"Its so nice." Daisy said.

"Its nice to get away and just relax. I found this place when I was about 8..after my dad died."

He moved to sit on the edge, his legs dangling over while Daisy sat opposite and kept her feet on the ground. She crossed her legs at her ankles and held her hands in her lap. It was surprisingly a warm night, the weather was cold in the pass few days.

The sat together in quiet. The quiet was comfortable. Curly was she didn't push the topic and try to make him force out his past like most chicks tried to do. Girls tried to fix him and he didn't want to be fixed. He wanted to be understood. That's what he needed.

"Dais?" Curly asked as he stared over the town.

"Yeah?" She asked.

From the corner of his eye, he could see she was nervously toying with her cross. He couldn't imagine praying to God so he could ask if he was a bad person. But Daisy went to church enough, she had to know about the bible. She'd probably know. "You think I'm a bad person?"

"No." She replied softly. "Just rough around the edges that's all."

"I'm sorry for kissing you that night." Curly apologized. "I didn't deserve it.. You're too sweet."

"Curly, you're sweet too. Have faith in yourself." She placed her hand over his on the ledge before looking at hand was warm.

"You think you'd wanna be my girl?" Curly asked.

Curly could feel his heart beating from the contact of her hand. His stomach turned with excitement and it felt like his head would pop out at any second. He was a mess and he knew that. But he liked the way she made him feel.

"Of course." Daisy smiled.

He was relieved she agreed. Finally, he could have a little light in his world of darkness that was his. For a little bit, he'd forget about that darkness and focus on her lips as they were pressed against his, his hand as it was tangled in her hair.  
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Curly shut the door quietly behind him before letting out a soft laugh. He had just dropped Daisy off, about 2 minutes before her 10 o' clock curfew because he couldn't bring himself to pull away from her. His lips were still burning, and his heart was still beating fast. Partly because he ran home to avoid any contact with the Tiber kids, but mostly because of his excitement about Daisy. He couldn't understand it but he liked it. He liked it a lot.

"Anyone home?" Curly asked as he threw his jacket on the couch.

He didn't get a response. He could see Angel's light off, she was probably with Johnny Cade who she had been seeing more and more of. He wondered if she was in love. He hoped she wouldn't get into trouble again like her previous years. She was too young to be dealing with that sort of stress. Only a child.

Curly noticed Tim's keys still on the table so he had to be home unless he went around walking. He waked passed Tim's room and the light was still on, as was Curly's room light. He opened his door to see Tim on the floor, his back towards Curly but he could still see Tim surrounded by the hidden cash.

"Tim.. Look let me explain." Curly quickly said.

Tim let out a harsh deep breath as he went through some pills before dropping it on the floor. Tim quickly charged at Curly and held him against the wall.

"What's the one thing I told you not to do?" Tim growled, his hand tightening around Curly's throat. "Cabron! Curly why are you pushing?!"

Curly went cold, his sweat felt like cold water. He felt his his stomach sinking down to his feet. "Tim, I'm sorry, man."

Tim held Curly there for a few more seconds. His ice cold eyes filled with a strange rage, Tim looked dangerous, like he could kill someone. Curly was starting to see stars as Tim tightened his grip around Curly's throat. It was good that Curly was calm, if Tim ticked him off enough he would've swung back. But he understood that Tim had every right to be mad.

Curly's mind wandered as he looked at Tim's eyes. He had been thinking of his horrible memories of his step father choking him and night. He could remember the feeling of not being able to breathe, thinking he'd die soon but death would be better than this. Curly could feel tears well in his eyes, his face scrunching. He didn't get sad often, but thinking about his childhood would make him go dark. Tim took notice in Curly's changed facial expression.

Tim suddenly let go and slammed his hand on the wall above Curly's head. "Fuck!" He screamed.

Curly slowly slid down the wall as he caught his breath. His heart was beating and he was trying to snap out of the dark place. He tried to forget about his step father. He raised his eyes to look at Tim, his head was pressed to the wall, his hands were tightly balled into fists.

"Tim I'm sorry." Curly said again. "I'll tell you everything."

Tim didn't turn around, instead he took a deep breath before scarily saying "Get out".

"What?"

"I said..get out." Tim said.

Curly finally closed his mouth. His breathing had returned to normal so he was able to breathe through his nose. He stood up and brushed himself before leaving out the door without a word. There wasn't a point to argue with Tim, he fucked up, he knew that. He'd have to give him some time. Curly needed time too to sort this confusion he had.

He rode on the familiar bus back to Tio Jose's house. Tonight, he barely noticed the smell as he kept his eyes closed and thought about how nothing at all could ruin his night. He was wrong. He didn't know where he stood with the Shepard Gang or his brother. But at least he had Daisy. Curly sat up and opened his eyes as a new idea sparked in his head. He figured he'd work with his Tio, selling for a few more rounds until he got back on his feet.

"Jose.." Curly said as the door opened.

Jose looked confused to see Curly standing there on his doorstep. "Jose. I'm in.. I just need a place to crash and I'll do it." Curly panted.

Curly, however, couldn't bring himself to look Jose in the eye. He was embarrassed and he was beyond guilty. And the only thing that could run through his head was him and his mom praying a Sunday prayer,

"Forgive me father, for I have sinned."


	14. B U S I N E S S

"You'll be careful..right?" Daisy asked, but it sounded more like a plea with her big brown eyes staring over at him.

"Yeah..I know, Dais. I'll be careful." Curly reassured.

Curly had been sitting next to Daisy in the car Jose let him borrow. It was still fairly dark outside, Curly had convinced Daisy to let him take her to get breakfast. Daisy sipped on a coffee as she moved along to the beat of the Supremes. They had been going "steady" for only about a few weeks, it wasn't long but they were just beginning to know each other. Daisy had a kind heart and she made him happy when they were together.

"How's Angela doing? You seen her?"

It had been a few weeks since Curly had been kicked out of his house, and a few weeks since he had seen Angela. He didn't intend on avoiding her, he didn't want to, but he knew after a while she'd break down crying and start begging him to come back. He knew he wouldn't be able to handle the water works, and there wouldn't be anything to say to console her.

"She looks alright. She comes in with her girlfriends every now and then. I could talk to her..if you wanted." She suggested.

He quickly shook his head, "Naw. You don't have to.."

Daisy pulled at her cross and nodded slowly. "It's okay..I get it. Y'know, I'm real sorry about your brother."

"It's alright." Curly said while sporting a weak smile. "People fight."

Curly chuckled when he felt Daisy pinch his cheek. "Alright kid, I should get you to school. Gotta learn and all that."

Daisy let out a soft laugh as Curly changed gears and began driving in the schools direction.

"You'll call me right?" Daisy pressed as she grabbed her bag.

"I dunno. If I'm not with my other girlfriend I will." Curly laughed, earning a soft punch in his shoulder from Daisy.

"You'd better not be, Curly Shepard." Daisy giggled as she had her hand on the door. Curly grabbed her other hand before asking,

"You ain't gonna give me a kiss?"

Daisy turned towards Curly as he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers, the kiss was spirited, borderline passionate he had his hand on her back. The kiss lingered after they had pulled away and Curly could see the pink tint showing on her cheeks. As much as he kissed her, she would always be flustered afterward.

"Bye," Daisy said as she scooted out the car. "I want a rematch in spades!"

Curly watched as she ran up the steps into the school. Her hair swaying behind her as she disappeared in the building.

After she left, Curly went driving back to his Tio Jose's place. He had been staying with him ever since Tim gave him the boot. Curly hadn't seen the gang at all, and if he was being honest he felt unofficially shunned. Aside from only speaking to Angela once in the weeks he had been gone, he didn't have contact with anyone from that side of town. He knew Tim was avoiding him and he was probably glad he didn't have to deal with Curly's wild antics anymore. Curly felt somewhat relieved too, it felt good to not worry about the growing gang war, being that he barely crossed over that territory and when he did he was driving the car. He heard it was getting bad but he didn't know much of the details.

Curly earned his keep from selling and pushing the product for Jose and his Boss. It was easy and Curly was good at it, for once, he got to call the shots and it felt good to have some kind of power. Curly always pocketed some extra cash for himself, it would be a fat chance if Jose ever noticed. Jose was too occupied about receiving the money in general. From the few weeks Curly had lived with him, he could gather Jose was lazy and if he could make cash sitting on his ass then he would. The only thing on his mind was putas and having enough money to keep up with his lavish spending. For the most part, Curly and Jose got along okay, he had been the only person to treat Curly like a man and enjoyed it. Jose was always reminding Curly of his birthday that would be coming up, a chance for him to have new opportunities.

Although Curly was good at pushing, he didn't necessarily like it. The thing itself was boring and it had little action. Curly liked the fast life, he liked seeing everything. He ran around with his Tio's amigos for fun but they weren't anything compared to the Shepard Gang. Maybe it was the fact that Curly knew they were nothing like the Shepard Gang. They tortured for fun, they were brutal kids. They'd talk about it over a beer, Curly would listen from afar, his skin crawling from the details. He'd have to manage, it wasn't as if he could do anything.

Curly went and fell back onto the pullout couch he called his bed in the back room of Jose's house, smoking a cigarette and waiting for the prime time to come along. Curly could admit, he actually missed the times he'd sell in school, at least he was doing something during the day.

"Nephew, que haces?" Jose asked as he pushed open the door. (What're you doing)

Curly turned to look at Jose who had just gotten off the night shift. Jose only worked so he didn't raise any suspicion, if he didn't have to then he wouldn't.

"Nada." Curly shrugged. (Nothing)

"Your Tio's are on the phone." Jose said sourly.

Curly sat up with a huff and dragged himself into the living room to pick the phone up. He wasn't exactly itching to talk to them anytime soon but he couldn't avoid them forever. As if they would let that happen.

"Hello?"

"Nephew.. What's going on?" It was Angel who was on the other line.

Curly blew out a quiet breath while pinching the bridge of his nose. He turned and leaned against the wall before replying to his uncle.

"Nothing, Angel."

"Bullshit. Susie's, 12 o clock. You better be there or I'll drag your scrawny ass." and with that, he hung up.

Curly was there at Susie's five minutes before 12 o clock. If he had been there a second after 12 he knew Jose would flip out. He was all about getting to things on time. Curly could vouch for that, he'd always be there for Curly's sorry ass baseball games to watch the whole thing. Tio Angel strolled in not too long after Curly, just like he was expecting. He slid in the booth across from Curly, his face was straight and the look made Curly too nervous to even think of anything to say.

"So you slinging, boy?" Angel asked with a calm tone.

Curly's head sunk low, like a puppy that was getting scolded from his owner. He was beyond embarrassed to face his Tio and come clean about what he was doing. Curly always had been Tio Angel's favorite, that was a fact, but to not have his approval now was something new that Curly couldn't stand.

"Por que? Did we not give you everything you needed?" Tio Angel pressed.

"Tim didn't tell you?" Curly wondered. Tim wasn't an idiot, and Jimmy was loyal to the Shepard Gang. He knew that he had told Tim everything, and if he hadn't Curly would be disappointed. But he knew them better than that.

"I wanna hear it from you, papi."

Curly sighed as he brought his hands to his face and rubbed at his eyes before looking over at Angel. "After Tim stole the connect from Tiber, the River Kings passed some coke onto junior Brumley members to get them taken down, that way we'd fall through them. Then they passed it to me. I sold it for them because, I had a chance of getting rid of it."

Angel kept his lips pursed together and his eyebrows were furrowed. He had been thinking and processing the information.

"You coulda came to us, Charles."He says finally.

Curly can't find the words to come up with a proper response. Instead, he continues to hang his head low and tap his fingers along the marble on the table.

"So you missing school too I heard."

"Wasn't like I was good at it." Curly snorted before rolling his eyes slightly. "I'm dumb we all know that."

His mind travels to the many "step-dads", friends, and girlfriends who had told him this before. He kind of believed it too.

"If we wasn't in this restaurant I'd slap the shit out of you nino. Don't ever fucking say that, you're a lot smarter than me, let me tell you that." Angel rants. His takes a deep breath before he calms down some more. "You have potential, you all do. You can really be something, Charles."

"Sure," Curly shrugs apathetically, resting his head in his hand.

"I'm serious, you'll be dead before you're 20 if you keep going like this. Curly, you're only a baby."

Curly tenses at Angel's pleas. He wasn't a damn kid and he was tired of them referring to him as one.

"I'll be 17, Angel. All you and the Tio's treat me like I'm some kid and I've been fine on my own." Curly rants.

Curly stands up from the booth, a little too loud that now the other customers are watching them and staring. Whispering along the words "Hoodlum and thug". He reaches into his pocket and throws out a few bills to pay for Angel's coffee, childishly attempting to make his point. Angel shakes his head and sighs at his nephew.

"Just let me be."

With Curly's last statement, he moves from the booth and storms out the restaurant. He angrily walks back out to his car, attempting to not notice anyone but it seemed as if his luck was testing him today when he saw Connie Winston waving him over like a dumb ass school girl. At first, he was going to ignore it, but a small part of him wanted to make sure she was fine and how she was doing the night she tried to kiss him. He had no interest in her romantically, but he cared for her as a friend, and if their history wasn't so complicated she could have been a great friend.

"Hey," Curly greeted in a huff as he crossed the street.

"Long time no see." She nodded. "I called you over to say hey that's all." Connie shrugs nonchalantly.

Curly nodded, a light smirk growing on his face as he decides to press her about the kiss. "You ain't gonna apologize?"

"Excuse me?" Connie asks, clearly sporting a look of disgust.

"When you kissed me, Connie." Curly laughed. "You were drunk, I'm damn sure you was."

The blonde snorted and rolled her eyes at Curly, her arms crossed over her chest. "Fuck off. Obviously I was drunk. I could've found a better hookup than you in seconds, don't flatter yourself kid."

"Right." Curly says sarcastically, he leaves to get back to his car but stops and turns towards her. "Hey, Connie?"

Connie raised her eyebrow as she looked over at Curly. Curly could feel his stomach bunch at the question he was about to ask, but he knew that Connie was smart and if they maybe tried being partners again it could work out. Somewhat. Curly needed another partner to help, sometimes he received more than he could push it. Connie would have connections. She was like Bridgette Bardot of the drug world, everyone lusted over her sexual tendencies.

"What do you think about being partners again? Only for a little bit."

She let out that laugh again, her arms dropping so she could cover her mouth with her hands. "Oh shit. Shit, Curly. I thought you'd never ask. When do I start, boss?" Connie winked. Curly balled his fists up as he stared at the giggling girl.

"Lets get outta here so we can talk."

She sat next to Curly in the car as they talked in an abandoned parking lot. It was far out of Tiber and Shepard Gang territory. Curly puffed on a cigarette as he went over orders and rules for Connie to abide by, and in that particular moment, he reminded himself of Tim. He liked the authority he was giving off, he felt like Lyndon B. Johnson.

"One. Don't ever cross me. Don't think about crossing me, Connie, understand? I won't hesitate to kill you Winston I'm serious. Two. You do what I say, exactly what I say. Don't go doing your own shit. And Three, there's nothing going on between us. Entiendes?" Curly thought about Daisy and how she would react to Curly working with Connie. Curly would have to do well on his part to make sure Connie didn't cross boundaries, he was confident that he wouldn't. He was decent in how to take care of a woman.

Connie nodded playfully and Curly was beginning to have second thoughts. Connie must have noticed his scowl and she straightened up, blowing out a deep breath and dropping the smirk from her face.

"Okay, I got it. When you'd become so serious?" She teased lightly.

"When I became in charge of my own hustle. Be at this joint on Friday nights, 1250 Avenue Road." Curly ordered as he wrote the address down on an old napkin he found in Jose's car.

"With the Chicanos?" Connie asked. "Alright."

"Business only." Curly stated.

 

*Thanks for reading, comment, leave kudos! I really appreciate it! -Author*


	15. T E N S I O N S

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Curly starts a new job with a new partner.

"I guess you didn't think to tell me you had a partner, amigo." Tio Jose says as he sits at the kitchen table.

Curly had been on his way out and just casually mentioned that he'd be meeting up with Connie and that she would help him sell. He shrugs awkwardly and plays with his curls in the back of his head. "Didn't think I needed to tell you." He says carefully.

Jose takes in a deep breath before asking Curly,

"Y'know this Chica well?"

Curly nodded, he had knew her pretty much all his life and he came to understand her antics. If she was going to cross him, he knew the signs. Not that he thought she would, not this time at least, she was desperate. And if she had plans for stepping over Curly he had plans to make sure she burned. Jose shook his head before letting out a chuckle, he was tending to the white dust on the table, Curly watched as it fell to the floor.

"Alright. Make sure she don't get too close to the product or the money. You can't trust no one, entiendes?"

"Si." Curly replies.

His uncle chuckles before flicking his hand, signaling that it was okay for Curly to leave. Connie had been standing on on the poor with her hands on her hips and a cigarette in her mouth.

His Tio laughed again and signaled for Curly that it was alright to leave. He opened the door to see that Connie had been standing there on the porch with her hands on her hips and a cigarette in her mouth. They decided to meet at this address before going back to Susie's to eat and then to sell at a nightclub.

"Jesus, you're the one who's bitching about being late but look at you." She scoffs.

Curly rolls his eyes and ignores her as he walks towards his car. She quickly follows him in the car like he thought she would.

Curly rolls his eyes and ignores her like he usually does. She follows him to the car like the lost puppy she made herself to be just like he thought she would.

"I'm gonna run in the diner real quick." Curly told Connie as he turned the car off once he reached Susie's.

Connie lifted her head and looked over at Curly before asking "Why?"

Curly groaned and mocked Connie and got out of the car. He was about to tell her to mind her business but to start arguing this early into their partnership would mean it was bad luck. The truth however, he wanted to see Daisy before he left. Her shift was ending and he wouldn't want her to worry if she hadn't seen him for a while. He would never tell her what he was getting in to, it would be beyond foolish to put the both of them in harms way, but Daisy was smart, she had an idea.

Once Curly got inside, he put in order in for a shake and he noticed she wasn't working at the counter. She had been standing off to the side, away from the jukebox with an older looking man that she resembled quite a bit and her younger brother James. She had a look of discomfort and she tried to appear even more closed off than she normally died, she was hugging her arms and her head slightly dipped. He had put it together the man was her father, with the over extended power he seemed to have over her and James. The man looked tough, as if he could've been in the military at one point in his life. Perfect posture, and a blank face.

"You'd better not be hanging around these goddamn thugs. I ain't kick that nappy headed brother of yours out for no reason." The old man ranted.

Daisy chewed on her lip as she looked down at her shoes, slowly nodding. "I know, Daddy. I'm not I promise. He was only Karen's brother." She said with embarrassment.

"And you better not be talking to Willy either. I'd beat the skin off your tail if I find out you are." He threatened.

Curly flinched at the words as he remembered the same sort of threats from his own parents. He wondered if it was just an empty threat, just to scare her a little bit. The Tio's used to use empty threats for Angela all the time but they would be out of their mind if they carried out with it. Her father didn't seem like he had been kidding. Curly could feel his anger rising from the violence the old man spat. He had to remember to keep his cool. Daisy brought her eyes up to Curly's before quickly looking away with a bashful look panting her face. She grabbed James protectively before hanging her head again.

He didn't know what to think. This was the first time that he had seen her vulnerable and open and she didn't get a chance to come out to him herself. It was a sad sight, her trying to remain tough for James as her father publicly shamed her as if she was the Devil itself. He felt for her, he wanted to reach out to her, take her away and get her mind off of it. Selling had completely left his mind but he knew he couldn't and that if her father had even seen her look at him, he'd carry through with the threat. Curly gave her a weak smile before leaving the diner, highly confused.

"This seems like a... Shit hole." Connie commented as she got out of the car and stood next to Curly. "I'm dressed the part, right boss?"

"That's 'cus it is." Curly grumbles.

This place had been crawling with fiends looking for their fix. They didn't care so much about the maintenance, it didn't look all that different from the hippie houses. Curly looked her over, she had her usual outfit on with much more makeup than usual. The guys would go for it.

"Perfect. Let's go."

The two entered through the doors and the smell of sweat and musk filled the air. Loud music had been playing as random people filled the floor. The sight was an atrocity, they hardly looked like humans, sweating profusely from the side effects and the extra "exercise". This would be Curly's first night selling here and he hoped for good business. Connie stood awkwardly in front of the crowd, pondering her next move. Curly sighed and dragged her by her arm off to the side, an amateur mistake. She had been using her skills she learned from the streets.

"Connie, you don't gotta put yourself out there. They know who you are, just relax." Curly explained.

Curly ordered a beer from the bartender, to keep his mind straight and muttered a "Gracias". He turned to the crowd to see if he could predict who his first customer might be. Instead, he saw a big chicano rushing towards him as if Curly murdered his family.

"Who you think you are, puto?" a man asked.

He was built rather large but he was a little bit shorter than Curly. His skin color resembled sand.

"Aye, who you calling a puto?"

"You, cabron! Who you think you are selling in my joint, the fuck?"

Curly balled his fists up so if anything happened he was prepared. He was already ticked off from the days events, now this kid was edging him on. But before either of them could throw their fists at each other, another chicano had separated them. It was Miguel, the chicano who helped Curly sell speed when he first started.

"Chicos, calmense, Santana relax." he said while putting his hand on his shoulder. "This is Jose's sobrino. There ain't no bad blood, claro?"

The guy named Santana held the scowl on his face as he looked Curly. "Youngins always takin' over ese." Santana growled.

"What you expect from Stephen's son?" Miguel chuckled.

Santana walked away in a huff, leaving Curly, Connie, and Miguel standing there.

"You know about my dad?" Curly asked.

Miguel let out a laugh that made Curly feel a bit naive. "Everybody knows about Tu papa. One of the best. You push like your old man." Miguel comments. "Hey, I thought you said you was only selling once."

Curly shrugged as he hid the embarrassment from Miguel. He only intended on selling once but life had other plans for him, this was only temporary, he knew he couldn't do this forever.

"Gotta do what I gotta do, si?"

Miguel chuckled before putting his hands up in defense, he wished Curly good luck and disappeared into the crowd. Curly looked at Connie who started selling already, she was surrounded by both guys and girls. He smiled when he saw the scene, it seemed his plan worked, he knew she'd bring in money.

"C'mon Winston. That's enough for tonight." Curly said as he shoved the remaining product in his bag.

He could see that Connie was about to open her mouth and protest, but she quickly made a grunt instead. If he didn't have to be somewhere, he'd stay longer and make extra cash. But after what he saw in the diner he wanted to make sure Daisy had been okay. He knew what it was like having nutcases for parents.

"You're no fun." Connie pouted.

"I've got places to be, things to do." Curly replied as the two walked to the black car that belonged to Jose.

"You uncles pretty cool." Connie commented, swirling her fingers in her hair. "Lettin' you borrow the car and all."

Curly shrugged as he started the car. He knew this was Connie's way of trying to dig out information, however Curly wouldn't give her any. He wasn't an idiot like everyone made him out to be. He drove in the direction of Buck's, not really knowing where she was staying or if she had been staying with Dallas, he didn't really care. It was her business and she could figure it out.

"Pay up." Curly said once he got to Bucks.

"You really think I'd steal from you?" Connie asked as she dug in her bra for it.

Curly frowned and turned to look out the window with his hand still outstretched for the money. The sight of her chest was something he didn't want to see as crazy as that sounded.

"Oh don't act like you don't want this." She said as she slapped the bills in his hands.

"I don't.. And there's nothing going on between us." Curly reminded.

He counted the money and handed her a 20 dollar bill for her pay of the night. "You'll get the rest next week." he told her.

"Alright boss." Connie smirked as she got out the car.

When Curly reached Daisy's house, he was expecting for her bedroom light to be off. She had told him plenty of times she went to sleep early because she'd fall asleep in class. It was already well passed 12 o' clock. He was thankful that her house was a one story so he didn't have to climb anything to get to her room. Curly had bad history with climbing things like telephones and tree branches.

He reached for a small pebble and bounced it off her window. A few moments later he could see her shadow and then the blinds moving before pulling the window up. Her hair had been completely out, no clips to hold in place, just flowing freely from her head. He tried to think of time where he saw it like this but he couldn't. She looked nice like that.

"What're you doing here?" She asked as she leaned on her sill.

"I ain't allowed to drop by?" Curly teased.

Daisy let out a nervous laugh before hushing Curly and moving the window up higher. He climbed in her room without much effort and took in his surroundings. Her room was what he expected it to be, completely matching her personality. It was girly, pink curtains hanging in front of the windows, old dolls sitting high up in the closet, a bible on her dresser opened on a verse and a cross hanging above her bed.

"What're you really doing here?" Daisy asked.

"I wanted to see how you were doing... After y'know..earlier." Curly trailed off.

"Oh.. You mean my Pa? Its nothing, that's a good day for him."

Daisy shrugged as she sat on her bed, once again hiding her face as it turned red. She had been surrounded by papers and textbooks. Some had been crumbled and thrown to the floor.

"Damn Dais.." Curly said as he pushed a paper aside, leaning back on his elbows. "A good day? He threatened to whip the skin off your back."

Daisy chews on her lips as she looks over a paper but he knows she isn't reading it. "He's just over protective. He doesn't like the whole.. Gang thing."

"What's the whole thing about Willy?"

"Oh. Well Willy isn't... Willy's not my Pa's kid. So when he learned he was gang banging he kicked him out. I'm not really supposed to talk to Willy but. He's my brother." Daisy replied sheepishly.

"Damn kid. I'm sorry." Curly replies. "What're you doing up so late?"

"I'm trying to get this work done." She sighed as she ran her fingers through her messy hair.

She huffed and pushed the papers away from her slightly. Just one glance at her papers he could tell she was an over achiever, the problems had been attempted multiple times and scribbled out.

"What is it?"

"Its math."

Curly grabbed a paper and looked it over. He had passed this kind of math before and he also enjoyed it. Math was his thing and it was only thing he could understand in school surprisingly. He never really got along with words and comprehending philosophers or understanding symbolizing in literature. Nor did he care to do it. Math was straight forward, you do this, then you do that and you solve the puzzle. You're either right or wrong.

"I could help. I've done this before, got an A-." He would've gotten an A+ if he had put any effort into it, he could still remember that period of time where he had been a depressed mess.

Daisy laughed as she looked over at Curly. "Mr. Im 'too cool for school' got an A-? Get over here and show me then."

Curly moved so he could sit next to her and leaned back against her headboard. The smell of her perfume filling his nose made him smile, she had The Supremes playing on her record and it crossed his mind that he had saw a Supremes record across town, maybe he'd get it for her if he was able to. Curly looked the paper over again so he could figure out an explanation.

"Look, this here? All you gotta do is divide both side. And plug the number back in." he explained.

"Alright." Daisy replied as she took her pencil and followed Curly's words.

She had been on Curly's right which he had been thankful for because he was constantly bumping hands with people since he was left handed. All the Shepards were lefties except for his Ma. He always thought his dad did it on purpose but they naturally wrote with their left hand. Tim however, was ambidextrous, which he always used for his advantage.

Curly looked over at Daisy when he felt her head hit his shoulder and saw that she had feel asleep. Her hair had been even more messy as she slept with her mouth slightly parted. She breathed in light breaths and Curly wondered if he had every seen something so beautiful. He smiled to himself as he finished her homework and shut it in the text book.

"Night, kid." he whispered as he moved her hair from her face and kissed her forehead.

He went climbed back out her window and disappeared in the night.


	16. D A R K S T R E E T S

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Curly finds himself in a situation that he can't run from.

The young and lazy hood was leaned back against Jose's couch with one leg hanging off the couch and the other propped up on the arm of the chair. He held a special comic book in his hand in front of his face and although it was a good and expensive comic, he had a question floating around in his head.

"What d'you remember about my ma?"

Jose, who had been sitting at the kitchen table looks over at Curly. He had been eating a plate of food before he turned in for the night. "Your ma? I remember she was a real sweetheart. I mean, til she got hooked but..it happens."

When it came to feelings about his Ma, Curly became puzzled. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to have unconditional love for the woman who brought him into the world or if he should hate her for her mistakes. Because of her awful mistakes, he had mental and physical scars that reminded him of all he missed out on during his childhood. He couldn't help but think and wonder, if she had never gotten hooked, would he be apart of a gang? If his dad wasn't dead where would they be? Gloriana Shepard had to have been crazy, no sane woman could ever do so much wrong to her children.

"We tried to help y'all out but your Ma...she was persistent. You always loved your Ma so we figured you'd come to us when you were ready." Jose explained.

That bit had been true, Curly was the one who stayed attached to his Ma the longest. Always behind her, he had been her shadow when he was a child. They had special moments between themselves that he'd think back on sometimes late at night. He couldn't remember when he had cut the ties between the both of them but it had taken a long time.

"What happened between you and mis Tio's?" Curly asked.

Jose let out a soft chuckle before shaking his head slightly. "They ain't tell you by now? It was over your Ma and that dumb-ass Daddy of yours." Jose snickered.

For most of Curly's childhood and teenage years, he hadn't heard a word about his father. He had been a hushed topic, sort of taboo. He had no knowledge of what he was like and he could on rely on his memories of him which were completely unreliable being that he was only about 8 when he died. And most of those memories had been pushed to the back of Curly's mind.

"What he do?"

"That's a story for a 'nother time. Si?" Jose said as he rinsed his plate.

Curly nodded and his eyes followed Jose as he walked away. The atmosphere had become tense after he brought the questions up, it was obvious Jose didn't want to talk about it and he didn't want Curly knowing about it. It was as if the whole family kept secrets and Curly was the only one left out of the loop. He was sick of them feelings as if he couldn't handle the pressure. Curly shook his head and sat up, tying his shoes and slugging his arms through his jacket. He needed to take a walk, the car didn't have any gas and he knew the air would feel good on his face. And besides, he liked to look at the full moon.

Curly found himself on the other side of town in a small store. He handed some cash over to the cashier for a record. He had been planning for a few days to come buy the record and give it to Daisy. He hadn't intended on doing it tonight but he figured he should do it as soon as possible. He knew she would smile when she saw it, Daisy loved The Supremes and she loved Diana Ross. She always hummed along to the music. Curly thought she deserved something nice for always being there for him when he needed it. He hadn't had Jimmy to lean on, but he had her. And she never judged him when he unloaded his thoughts, she took it and received it.

As Curly walked away from the store, he could hear his feet crunching the rocks below his shoes. After a few minutes, he could hear more footsteps pick up behind him. He felt like the biggest idiot once he realized that his "company" had trapped him in an alley.

"Well. If it isn't Baby Shepard." A low voice snickered as Curly turned around.

He immediately tensed and hunched his shoulders. The habit was a defense mechanism. He had to be prepared for what was about to happen, he'd either A. Get jumped or B. Get killed. Tiber Gang was ruthless. He looked around to check his surroundings, there were about 3 guys who circled him. Curly's eyes traveled to their hands and their belts to see if they had any sort of heater on them. It didn't look like they did, they seemed to be a little intoxicated. But you could never be sure about what people had on themselves. Curly felt like an idiot and at the moment, he could understand Tim's frustrations. He could hear Tim's monotone voice going on about how he never thought things out and how he'd get hurt one of these days. Curly was feeling like today was the day. He was sure of it.

"You fucked us over big time!" a kid said.

Curly's heartbeat quickened as he tried to think over his little bit of options. He was about 10 minutes away from Daisy's neighborhood, which meant he was just about fucked. He would never be able to make it there. He had to think quick and swift. If he wasn't, he could end up dead. Curly grumbled to himself when he noticed that there were four guys and not three. The fourth one had been leaning against the wall father back. He looked to be the devious ring leader.

"I'm tired of you Shepards, thinking you're big and bad and shit. Give me this shit!" The kid growled. He leaned over to snatch the record but Curly moved it behind his back.

"Don't touch the record." Curly warned.

He knew he was in no position to act like a tough guy, he was beyond nervous. But if he let them have the record they'd underestimate his abilities. He would be even more of a target and so would the Shepard Gang. He wasn't going to bitch up for them and give in to their antics. He'd remain cool and calm, just like Tim would've reacted in this situation. Like he had been trained to do.

"Shepard got a girlfriend? What's her name, bet you I'd take better care of her than you do. Fuck her right." The kid teased, getting the other hoods to get in on the joke.

Curly rolled his eyes at the vulgar comments. He had been relieved that he hadn't gotten Daisy involved in any of the gang activities, if they knew her name and who her brother was, they would have loved to use her against them. Especially because she had been a virgin, Tiber was cruel to go through with their threats. The thought of it made him sick to think of what they were capable of. He hated it.

"Enough fucking around." Another kid said, the one who had been leaning against the wall.

He noticed that one of the kids whipped something out of his pocket. It shined from the single street light in the alley but from where Curly was standing he couldn't figure it out. It looked to be like some kind of debris, some sort of metal or shank.

"Bobby, get him from the back." The kid ordered.

The kids grabbed Curly's arms that made him drop the record. The one with the metal, Bobby, had been behind him. From glancing behind his back, Curly could finally see that it was a screwdriver. Curly tried not to show his sneaky grin, if he survived this ass kicking, he was lucky to have gotten a name from it. He repeated the name several times so he could remember his name. Bobby. Once he found him, he'd be sorry he did. Curly had to face it, there wasn't a point in running away. He was in their turf and if he ran and they caught him, they'd come back with more and they'd kill him. He'd just have to take his chances.

"You try anything funny I'll drive this shit in your spine." the kid whispers.

Curly's stomach drops at the threat. The mere thought of the screwdriver driving in his back made him extremely nervous. Out of all the weapons, it could've been a knife or even a homemade shank and he wouldn't of been this vexed, but a fucking screwdriver? That was beyond sadistic. The other kid grins with a rare look of evil, he was the kind of person who enjoyed watching people suffer and cry out from pain. He smiled as he stepped forward, positioning the brass knuckles on his fingers. He draws his hand back and throws multiple punches to Curly's face. He tries to block out the pain and take the punches, he thinks of another time but his body can't keep up with the pain. When they're done, he's unconscious. They throw him to the floor like a worthless piece of paper and run out of the alley as they heard sirens a few blocks over. In Curly's fuzzy, dark mind, he can just hear Tim saying he told him so.

When Curly finally regains his consciousness, he's clutching the record to his chest. His eyes bolt open once he realizes he's on the ground in an alley that wasn't his turf. As he moves, he can feel the pain shooting through his body, more specifically his ribs and he's scared to move. Scared he'll make his injuries worse. For a moment, it's hard for him to remember what happened to him until it flashes back to him. He had been jumped and a kid named Bobby pressed a screwdriver to his back. Curly sat up as fast as his ribs would let him, the only thing on his mind was getting out of that alley before they came back for round two, they'd be sure to kill him then.

He was more than lucky to even be alive as of now. Curly couldn't shake the feeling of how dumb he had to have been for even stepping into their turf during a gang war. He quickly stood up and bolted out of there before anyone could realize who he was. Going back to Jose's was too far and he wouldn't be able to make it without passing out again. If he went back home Tim would for sure be pissed off. So he ran to Daisy's house, her light had been off but he still lazily knocked on her window, slumped against his shoulder. He was relieved when he saw a sleepy-eyed Daisy appear at the window.

"Curly? Are you alright?" Daisy yawns as she rubs at her eye.

"No." Curly answers honestly. He can feel a cold sweat running down his back. "I just got jumped and I needed somewhere to go."

Daisy's eyes go wide from shock, she steps away from the window and helps Curly come in. He had used most of strength to make it to her place so he wasn't surprised when he stumbled onto her floor. She had made sure he was sitting upright before disappearing for a second and returning with ice. She frowned as she crouched and pressed it to Curly's face. She looked as if she'd cry any second now.

"Curly what the hell were you doing walking around so late?" She hisses.

Curly lets out a breath before putting putting the record on her bed. "I was getting this for you."

Daisy smiles like he knew she would. It's a sweet moment as she looks over the record and then at him before pulling him into a soft hug and pressing her lips to his head. He can't help but slump against her being that he had no energy to sit up on his own. He could feel his eyes sinking and the feeling of him sleeping was overcoming his body.

"Curly you didn't have to. You could've gotten killed." She whispers.

The pair sat on the floor as she gently wipes at his face, cleaning it as she goes. It stings and he can barely focus but he refuses to react to the pain. He knew he had scared her, seeing him battered and bruised. He didn't want her to worry but he couldn't think of another place to go. She softly whispers a prayer, one that he recognizes. His mom used to recite it with him, only it had been in Spanish. Her soft voice had been a comfort. How ironic, who would've guessed he be hearing this prayer after yet another severe beating.

"Here take your shirt off. These are old Willy's gym shorts you can wear." She says as she hands them to Curly, helping him pull the shirt over his head.

Curly sleepily pulls himself out of his jeans, he notices he's good blood everywhere. He hadn't even thought of going somewhere else to change, once he noticed Daisy's blushing at the sight of him in his underwear. He had forgotten how modest she was. "Willy would sure laugh at this sight."

"He probably would." Daisy says quietly. "Now get in the bed." Daisy orders as she helps Curly up.

She flicks the light off and Curly's eyes close quickly. He's still awake for the time being, his mind running wild and thinking about that damn screwdriver drilled into his back. Within seconds a disaster could've happened because of a screwdriver. He had to have been a nutcase. Worse than Andrew from the Shepard Gang.

"Curly you'll be careful next time?" Daisy asks, he can feel her hand gently moves across his waist.

"Yeah.."

The sit in silence for a little bit. It hurts to move so he stays on his back. He couldn't imagine what he would've done without her. "Dais?"

"Mm?"

"He had a screwdriver pressed in my back." Curly whispers.

Daisy lets out a soft sight. Her breath is shaky as she caresses Curly's face as softly as she can. She doesn't say anything and she doesn't have to. In fact, Curly prefers that. Her actions were enough words for him. He feels a stray tears roll out from his eye and he sure that she knows. He felt vulnerable once again, just like her at the diner. He's finally opened up. He figured it was about time.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil..

Comments!

Phoenix Arisin

Thanks for liking the plot! I just finished planning the rest of the story out. And yeah I'm trying to into more detail about Curly's childhood in terms of who raised him and how (probably more in the next chapter). Thanks for liking Connie, I was scared people wouldn't like her. I love her character and I even debated on making a story of her own for her. Poor Connie, she's got a crush on Curly :(. And I try to make Curly protective of Daisy because she's the only person who really understands him and also he feels like he should protect her innocence. Thanks for reading!

I look forward to hearing everyone's feedback :)


	17. F L O W

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Curly comes face to face with reality.

"Mm. Your face is healing nice." Connie commented as she sipped slowly on her milkshake.

Curly lightly sucked at his bottom lip and leaned against the back booth with his arms crossed. He didn't exactly enjoy when people commented on his face or the fact that he was jumped. It was embarrassing and it made him feel ashamed to even call himself a Shepard. It had only been a week and half since the day Curly had been jumped. He noticed that his face was healing quite well but his body once again had some sort of permanent damage. The pain in his ribs would flare randomly throughout the day, damn near knocking the wind out of him. His face sported a new scar, opposite to where Tim's was but if they hadn't looked alike before they damn sure looked alike now. His Tio had lost his mind once he saw Curly's face, wanting to get in the car immediately to track them down but Curly wanted to wait, he needed to wait to get his head in the right mindset.

"Yeah.. Only a few bruises, I managed to slap some ice on it." Curly replied as he recalled that night once again.

Lately, it was all he could think about. The anger would pulse through his veins, cloud his mind as he analyzed everything that went wrong. Analyzed the whole situation. And the one with the screwdriver. Curly couldn't wait until they crossed paths because, boy, did he have plans for him. He just hoped he could get to them before Tim did or else all his thinking and planning would be for nothing. Through all the humiliation, pain, and vulnerability, Daisy had been there for him whether he asked or not. She offered everything she could for him and he knew that their bond had increased that night and he felt more in sync with her than he ever did with anyone. He wondered if it was possible, if Tim ever felt like that.

"You've been thinking about how you're gonna get back at 'em?"

Curly shrugged and blew out a sigh. "Naw. Not yet."

He had been more on edge with his trust with Connie. Now that they weren't personally involved, he enjoyed her company as a friend. But trusting a Winston often left both Shepards dry and in the dust. He couldn't completely trust her, there was a chance she'd maybe slip up, let out his secrets, or perhaps she had been working for someone else, a connect even. He stood up from the table and excused himself to go smoke his cigarette outside of the diner. The air was getting colder by the hours by strangely enough, Curly enjoyed the breeze. He had a strange feeling that he hadn't had in weeks. He wanted to see Tim. He hadn't really thought about it until a few days ago but he would find himself thinking back on old jokes between the two, memories, trips they took together and his famous sarcastic side comments. It hadn't crossed his mind to actually apologize, no, he couldn't cave in, he just missed their relationship. His missed his brother.

"Curly?"

A faint voice in the distance intruded on Curly's thoughts of reminiscing, he turned to see the black hair, it was Jimmy who was approaching him. He looked the same, almost, but he changed his hair around and he looked like he was approaching a wild animal. Curly had spent most of his time attempting to avoid all of the Shepard Gang, facing them would be too overwhelming for Curly, too problematic, and it would be better for everyone if he just kept a safe distance.

"Hey." Curly said coldly.

"I uh.. I heard what happened." Jimmy said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "We all did."

"Well it ain't every day a Shepard brother gets jumped." Curly said sourly, it was obvious the whole town would hear it. He could hear those stupid brats now, boasting about how they stomped Curly Shepard cold. How they had him in their hands, how they could've killed him, just like that.

"What the hell were you doing in their turf? Tryna kill yourself?"

Curly stays quiet. He didn't like the fact that Jimmy, just like everyone else was speaking to him like a child, like they weren't best friends and used to make bets on who'd kiss Mary Lou behind the tree first. (Curly in fact, did, kiss Mary Lou first). Jimmy had the audacity to interrogate him, as if he owed him any sort of explanation.

Jimmy huffed in response, clearly annoyed and frustrated with Curly's attitude. He moved slightly closer, just to be a little more careful. "Well maybe we can meet up. Spray paint like the good ol' days."

The mere thought of doing something other than selling drugs and just hanging out with Jimmy temporarily softened his heart, it even made him smile for a slight second. Until he remembered their current situation. It was actually dumb for Jimmy to even suggest it, it wouldn't of ever been able to happen, not now, not when Curly and Tim were at odds. Curly could consider his spot in the Shepard Gang gone and Jimmy would be labelled a traitor. He wouldn't be able to let Jimmy do that to himself.

"I've got important shit to do."

"So that's it? You're a gang banger, a real ese now selling drugs and shit?" Jimmy looks angry, his face is red and flustered from his rant. The sight makes Curly feel stupid, sad even.

"I don't need this shit. I suggest you fuck off before I kick your ass. Wouldn't be the first time anyway." Curly said before he went back into the store.

He regretted his words as soon as he entered the diner. It was a dark time for both of them in the height of Curly's depressive moments. After his Ma just left, blatantly abandoning him, her family, for a man she barely even knew. The look in her eyes of how she didn't care. He swore he'd never bring it up again, regretting the day he ever laid his fist on Jimmy.

"Everything alright?" Connie asked once Curly slid back into the booth.

"Everything's fucking peachy."

"So.. Who's Connie?" Daisy asked as rolled on her back, holding her textbook over her and skimming the words once again.

Her hair was sprawled out over the floor, Curly knew she had to be bored studying but she refused to quit. She was determined to receive the perfect grade on her test but he was sure she would get it without studying. He turned from where he was sitting, he had been rolling a baseball around on the floor that probably belong to James and reading a comic. The silence was comfortable.

"Why?"

"Because." She begins, sitting up and leaning on her elbow. "James said he saw you, then Willy said you've been hanging with a girl named 'Connie'... He thinks y'all are an item." Daisy replies, dramatically stretching out the word 'item'

She doesn't look angry, in fact, she looks sort of cute with the face she's making as she attempts to pester Curly. A light smile was playing on her face and Curly liked the fact that she felt secure enough to not be jealous of Connie. Or at least ask before jumping to a false conclusion.

"That true? Got another girlfriend, Mr. Shepard?"

"Connie was an old fling a few years ago. But that's it, she's just a business partner." Curly explains.

"I'm not a second piece of tail, y'know. Nothing funny better be going on." She jokes, but Curly knew it was a serious threat.

"Relax babe. She's just a friend." Curly swore as he caressed her thigh through the fabric of her school skirt.

She smiled at the contact before playfully rolling her eyes. "Alright. I believe you."

Daisy yawns suddenly, covering her mouth with the back of her hand and laying back down on her back, picking the textbook up. Curly checks his watch, knowing she'd stay up longer than she needed to if she feels she didn't study enough and would lead to her extreme breakdowns.

Daisy yawns as she leans down some own her arm which makes Curly check his watch. He knew that she'd stay awake longer than she needed to if she didn't feel she studied long enough.

"Alright. Stop studying, yeah? You're the smartest one out there." Curly grins.

Daisy sits up, trying to appear awake. "I've just gotta finish this one page." She protests.

"You read that one already. C'mon." Curly says as he leans over and shuts her book.

"Okay." She agrees reluctantly.

She gathers her papers before standing up and stretching. She walks over to the bed and sits there, eyes following Curly as he walks towards her, leaning down to press a kiss against her lips and then her forehead. He mumbles a goodnight and walks over towards her window but stopping and pausing, looking over at her as she ties her hair up on her head.

"I hope you know me and Connie really don't got nothing going on. She's a thing of the past. Honest."

Daisy smiles slightly at the reassurance "Thanks Curls."

Once Curly got inside Jose's house, he threw the keys to the car on the table and fell back on the couch. He rubbed his burning eyes, slightly exhausted from the day he had. Jose hadn't paid that much mind to the young hood, instead he sat in the seat he claimed for the himself once Curly moved in, and rocked the chair while sipping on a beer. The relationship between the two was an interesting one, he wasn't like the rest of his Tio's, he was relaxed, it made Curly miss the structure he had been used to. Jose let him do just about anything, he could see why his baby mama's didn't let him around his kids.

Curly kicked his shoes off and turned to look at the TV, yawning quietly to himself as he tried to get comfortable. Jose needed a new couch but he knew he'd never actually buy one. That cheap bastard.

"That's how your Ma used to act." He comments.

It seems as if he's just stating the fact, not trying to tell Curly about his mother. Maybe even thinking back to his own childhood, perhaps to a certain time and he happened to say it out loud. Curly was usually used to hearing the he was more like his Dad, not his mom.

"I've been thinking... Since you'll be 17 and shit.. It times I tell you some things ese."

Curly sits up and gives his full attention to Jose. But Jose keeps his eyes on the floor, only slightly nervous as he prepared to tell Curly things about his life.

"Your Daddy. He was...he was killed. It wasn't no health issues and I told tu Tio's they shouldn't of kept that from you but, that's what they thought was best. Stephen was pretty popular and he was good at pushing, climbing up the ranks which was rare for a half white chicano. But he used our last name Garcia and I guess he kinda built all of us up. But your papi trusted everyone. He thought everyone was good deep down and y'know that shit don't work. He had the brains of a hustler and the heart of a saint and those two just don't mix. They can never work. Well his mistake was becoming too big, more powerful than someone he shouldn't of crossed and they killed him. Your Ma always felt like it was because of us, because we introduced it to him so we weren't allowed to see y'all but we couldn't blame her. Glori had it hard... raising three kids, the love of her life died. So she turned to the stuff, some leftovers from your Daddy's stash and she's been that way ever since. Thank God, tu hermano tries to keep her supply to a minimum so she don't kill herself or nothing. The family would be devastated of Glori died."

It takes Curly a few moments, maybe even minutes to even process what Jose said. But once it registers, he can barely move. He feels as if his heart would jump out his chest, his stomach turning faster than it would on a roller coaster. He tries to calm down, breathe and take deep breaths so he doesn't puke on the floor. He couldn't believe that everything he knew was a lie. Lies on top of lies. It hit Curly like a ton of bricks, he realized what he was getting himself in to. The game, the crime, the drugs. Death. Everything was all so real now. Knowing what it took to survive. Jose told him so he'd be ready for anything that crossed his path, to be prepared and trust no one. Be merciless. The fact that Tim had been selling to their Ma stunned him as well. He had always assumed but a small part hoped he didn't. He couldn't believe anything right now. Jumping into the ice cold river would probably be less shock than what he just heard. He was disgusted.

"I don't mean to scare you off, nephew. I just needed you to know."

"Yo se." Curly replies.

His words to jumbled he replies completely in Spanish. "Yo... Voy a... Voy a recamara." Curly manages to huff out. (Im going to my room)

Curly stumbles into the back room and falls back on the bed. He stares ahead of him, barely thinking yet having millions of thoughts run through his mind. He can't call Daisy and bother her again, she had a test coming up and he'd hate for her to fail it because of him. After a while he decides to reach under his bed to find his rolled up grass. The one he kept only for emergencies.

Hell, this was more than an emergency.

COMMENTS

Phoenix Arisin

Thanks! I should be releasing my Connie story pretty soon and I'll definitely let you know when. She deserves a good story. And I try to make Daisy have the balance Curly needs. I hope you enjoyed the chapter :) Thanks for reading.


	18. L I F E O F S I N

"Geez, Ang, loosen up a little." Curly huffs out as Angela buries her face in his chest.

She hadn't been crying, which was good because he was sure he wouldn't be able to take it. However, her arms were wrapped tightly around his waist, squeezing him as if he would slither away from her. They had been like this for a few minutes, he had decided to get a hold of Angela, it had been months since he had seen his sister and he knew that the both of them were suffering from it.

"I miss you at home." She says finally, she pulls herself away so she can look up at Curly.

Curly attempts to play it cool and responds with a sly "I know." Which lead to Angela punching him in the arm. He's trying to remain strong, lately he felt as if he been breaking away slowly, unsure of who he was. He was sure Angela was just as devastated, they had done everything together and she came home one day to his empty room. Curly moves back slightly, shoving his hands into his pockets and slapping a smirk on his face.

"C'mon we don't got all day."

Which was true. Tim didn't know that they met up, she told him she was meeting with her girlfriends and they met over where Jose lived. The two walked around a store, chatting about nonsense before they got to the deep stuff. The things they were scared to talk about.

"Where you been staying?" Angela asks.

Curly chews on his lip as he ties on a pair of Chuck Taylor's. He needed some new shoes and he was always able to get his hands on some when he was with Angela. She was a great distraction, guys and girls loved her. She used that to her advantage.

"With Jose." Curly answers shortly. "Let's not talking about me."

Angela lets out a deep breath as Curly hides his old sneakers. They began roaming the store again, looking at clothes as they tried to get over the awkward silence.

"Fine.." She huffs. "It's a goddamn war zone. Tiber and the River Kings joined up so it's them against us. They took a connect from us so Tim's trying to find more people to sell for us. Of course you're gone so no one really trusts the new guys. He's been thinking about coming over to los barrios to recruit some more kids. Ever since you got jumped we been trying to make a move. But that's all I know, los tios don't tell me shit."

Curly wouldn't of guessed that the war was this bad because he was occupied with his own problems. But he couldn't say that he was surprised, he saw it coming and he was sure Tim did too. Tim must have a plan already and Angela just doesn't know about it, Tim was always three steps ahead of his enemies. He figured Brumley and the Shepard Gang were thinking of ways to bring at least one gang down then they would be able to get some connects back. It made him wonder if Angela and Daisy were safe, girls of family members were main targets to destroy a gang. He'd probably have to talk to his new allies to make sure they were covered.

"So enough about this shit.. Tell me about you and your girlfriend."

The thought made Curly's cheeks red as he moved the clothing rack. Daisy had been the only person besides Jose's amigos that he was talking to. He was always able to talk to her, no matter the situation or the topic. "We just been seeing each other for a little bit." Curly huffs out.

"Aw!" Angela squeals as she holds her hands together. "Curly are you in love?"

Curly rolls his eyes at the question. Surely he felt something but he wasn't completely sure. "Shut up, Angela. And don't go running that big fucking mouth 'a yours alright?! I don't need all of Booker T and Will Rogers knowing my business."

Curly held his cards in his hand with an unlit cigarette between his fingers as he looked over at Daisy. He wasn't able to read her facial expression as she looked over her stack of cards. They had been up passed the hours of the morning playing a vicious game of Spades. It was nights like this that made Curly appreciate his shitty life, it was the moments that were filled with laughter that made him keep going.

"Mm, babe. You shouldn't of done that." Curly chuckles as he puts his last card down.

He smirks as he reaches forward to count his books. He definitely beat her again by far. Daisy groaned as she threw her cards down also, looking at Curly with a silly grin.

"You're cheating!" She declares. "It's damn near impossible to be able to have the exact books as your bid."

"I'm just that good." Curly grinned. "Admit it and it'll be easier."

"You're cheating and I'll find out how."

"Oh yeah?" Curly asks.

"Yeah."

He throws the rest of the cards together in a messy pile and leans over to press a soft kiss to her lips. Daisy giggles through the kiss and he can't help but smile when he pulls away. He stared down at her dark brown eyes without saying anything, just glancing at the golden cross the was shining on her neck. He sighs and moves to lie on his back.

"Curls.." Daisy trails off as she leans on Curly's chest.

"Yeah?"

"Tell me what's on your mind." She sighs lightly. "I know something's been up."

He bites his lip and thinks back to that night with Jose. The words and family secrets running through his mind and the guilt from staying away from Angela. He never had time to recover from it, instead he spent his time sleeping and selling to keep his mind off of it. And if that wasn't bad, he was developing nightmares from the night he got jumped. It was beginning to be too often when he wake up with his palms sweaty and heart beating too fast for his own good.

"I just found out something about my family...they hid it from me my whole life til now. Til Jose told me. Just tryna recover from it."

Daisy sighed as she looked down at Curly.

"Curls. You've gotta live your life for you." She whispers, running her fingers through his hair. "Its gonna be hard to accept it but you have to. To move on.. Whatever it may be will keep holding you back."

He's aware that it's true. Daisy's wise words of wisdom were always true and spot on. It was just the fact that he wasn't ready to face the truth. He didn't like thinking about it around her, instead he focused on having her in his arms. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep, he had grown used to her doing that now. As soon as he noticed her eyes squinting, he knew she'd be sleep soon. He had developed a habit of staying for a little bit, sometimes a few minutes, sometimes a few hours. Once he left, he was back into the warzone of his thoughts. They were jumbled and mismatched and they always left him completely confused. Ever since the night of the jumping he kept wondering what could've happened. Would he have died?

He had been jumped before but there was something about the damn screwdriver pressed in his back that really messed him up and had him feeling different. He'd dream about it and the screwdriver with different scenarios, sometimes he'd dream about his childhood and leading up to that night, or then he'd have a dream about someone dead. There would be blood everywhere and he'd bolt up, soaked in sweat and overheated, his heart racing. He could never make out the face or if it was a guy or a girl. Just that they were dead and he had blood on his hands.

He figured that's why he preferred staying at Daisy's. Knowing that she'd be there if he started having the nightmares again. He never had problems with them until he had gotten older and that drove him to his insomnia. It helped to have someone else beside him, and if he needed to talk to her she would be there. She offered to read him a Bible verse and sometimes he'd let her, he couldn't remember them but for the time being they made him feel comfortable. Comfort was what he needed. He was sure of that.

"I wanna show you something." Jose says once Curly walks up the steps in the late afternoon.

Curly rubs at his eyes, barely getting any sleep before he climbed out Daisy's window and went walking and smoking. Jose had been waiting for him in the arm chair, sipping on a beer with a strange look on his face. Jose stands up and motions for Curly to follow him to the closet. He turns the light on and the two stand in the dark room, the only light was a light bulb hanging above their heads.

"Things are changing and you need to be protected, chico." Jose say.

He could smell the alcohol on Jose's breath and it made him sort of uneasy. He didn't have a good feeling about what was happening. Jose reaches in a box and opens it, holding the black metal up to Curly's face. "You're gonna need this. Think of it...as you girlfriend." Jose commented.

Jose held the gun out and point it in Curly's hand. It felt cold and hard. He had seen guns before but he was never allowed to have one of his own in case he did something stupid. It felt foreign to him. Made him uneasy. Curly couldn't reply, all he could so was stare down at the gun and think of what would be next

Down to ride to the bloody end, me and my girlfriend

anyone. I hope you guys enjoyed, please leave a comment if you did! Just a warning there might be a smut chapter coming up! there will be multiple warnings at the beginning of the chapter. Part I should be coming to a close soon. Yes, something major is about to happen. Thanks for reading!


	19. W O M E N S W O R K

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Curly's connection deepens

*CAUTION THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SMUT*

Curly held back a groan as his hips were met by Daisy's. He squeezed his hand into a tighter first and attempted to move so he didn't go father than he intended to. He could feel Daisy's hand on his shoulder, holding him in place to keep him from moving. He was surprised, she was usually embarrassed by their close contact and her lack of modesty.

"I wanna do this."

His face was blank for a few seconds, confused by the words that had just come out of her mouth. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't thought about it, there were many nights he'd get to Jose's hot and bothered and the only solution would be to take a cold shower. His feelings were intense and he often felt like he'd explode when he was around her. It wasn't that he hadn't been wanting it, it was the fact that she was a virgin. If it had been anyone else, their panties would be off as soon as they said "yes". He cleared his throat and barely mumbled out a shaky,

"Are you sure."

Her slight nod was only a bit of reassurance for him to continue his actions. His heart beat faster than it had ever did as his lips moved against hers, he wondered if she was as nervous as he was. He didn't even remember if he was this nervous his first time, he couldn't exactly recall all the details. He was shit-faced drunk. He was, however confident in his abilities, passed lovers would ring the phone off the hook to get back to him, "Just once more" they'd beg. His thoughts became clouded as her hips met his, the friction making his stomach queasy. Curly sat up a bit to slide his back shirt over his head, tossing it to the side so it dropped onto the floor. Daisy took the moment to raise her shaking hands to her blouse and unbutton it.

"Relax." Curly muttered.

From that moment, Curly reached forward to help her take her blouse off. His eyes wandered to her chest, she had worn a white bra that accented her chest nicely. He moved to press his lips to her shoulder and pepper light kisses along her neck before softly sucking on her skin in the crook of her neck. His hand snaked behind her to toy with her bra clasp, unclipping it a swift motion. It hung off her arms a bit until she pushed it off and put her arms around his neck, their chests pressed together.

He listened to her light breaths to see her changing reactions. Daisy had been quiet for the most part, so quiet you wouldn't be able to hear if you weren't listening for it. He wasn't complaining, he had been with partners who were obnoxiously loud and it made for an annoying experience. He moved to reach for the buttons of his jeans, pulling it through and kicking them off his legs. His hand lightly ran across her exposed thighs, her legs were soft and smooth, and well moisturized. It made him want to run his lips along her legs, but he'd have to save that for a later time, he wasn't willing to push her too much. His hands stopped when they got to the waistband of her cotton shorts, slowly pulling them down her legs along with her underwear.

Curly placed a reassuring kids on her lips, his nimble fingers moving along her lower half making her squeal.

"Trust me, alright?" Curly asked as he moved his finger.

She nodded and chewed on her lip. Her eyebrows were pushed together slightly, he was sure it was due to her nervousness. He moved his hand to the waistband of his boxers and slid them off, pushing them off and onto the floor. His hands moved back up over her hips, keeping one there to hold her there comfortably. He thought his heart rate would've calmed down by now but it hadn't. By now, he was feeling more nervous than she probably was. He was surprised by her sudden want to do this and he didn't want anything going wrong.

"Alright." Curly said quietly.

"Okay.." She replied in barely a whisper, nodding her head.

She gasped from the initial contact and winced as he kept moving. He could feel her clammy hands as she clung to his biceps. Within a few moments he had filled her completely, taking a few seconds to start moving. He kept it slow and steady. He could hear her as she sucked in deep and shaky breaths. He placed quick, wet, kisses along her neck and jawline. His hand slid up to shift her hips slightly upward, quickening his pace slightly. Her shaky breaths had turned into quiet gaps and moans, making Curly smile to himself. He could feel her clench around him, making the intense burning in his stomach rise as he moved closer to his end. His hand had been gripping her hips harder than he intended for it to be, moving slightly harder to chase a release. She gasped suddenly, releasing her breath and reaching his end in the moment. He continued for a few more moments, holding her legs in place so they'd stop shaking.

After a little, he moved to lie on his back and stare up at the ceiling, heaving in and out to catch his breath. He looked over at Daisy, sitting up with her blanket over chest. The moon hit her arm, making her have a unique glow. He thought the act was a bit ironic being that he had just seen her chest for a good while.

"Are you okay?"

Daisy looked over at him, her dark brown eyes glimmering from the moonlight as a smile appeared on her lips. "I'm fine... Just checking the time. That's all." She muttered as she threw her watch towards the end of her bed. She leaned back and rested her head on Curly's chest. Her finger traced the tattoo that he had on his arm, a simple plain black tattoo. He was never one for small talk after sex so he was relieved she didn't say much. Instead, he closed his eyes, slipping into a sleep.

Once Curly woke up he noticed his head was buried in Daisy's shoulder with his arm around her waist. He moved his head to check his watch to confirm that it was very early morning. After blowing out a light breath he moved to sit up and slowly rub his face, trying to keep from falling asleep again. He slid down the bed and reached for his jeans that rested on the floor and sliding them up his legs. He caught sight of Daisy sleeping, in awe from it, sleeping soundly with her hair messily sprawled out over the pillow. He chuckled some and leaned forward, pressing a kiss to her cheek before climbing out her window.

"Where was your bony ass all night?" Jose asked once Curly reached Jose's.

Jose had been on his porch, watching as Curly turned the car off. He quickly leaned over to open the glove box, grabbing the heater and putting it in the waistband of his jeans. He didn't want to bring it around Daisy, he didn't like bringing gang things up around her that much, or else she'd get too worried. He kept in the glove box if he was around her. He was growing used to having the gun around, he hadn't used it but just the feeling of having it there made him feel better, more protected. He wondered if he'd ever use it. If he actually had the balls to go through with it. He knew how to use it, his tios would let him play around with one when he was around 15, but Jose wanted to be sure Curly was good with it, which he was. "A natural." Jose said. "Like tu papa."

"I was just hanging out, y'know?"

"Mm. Hanging out, your neck seems to be telling a different story nephew." Jose said as he flicked his cigarette bud off the porch.

Curly could feel his face getting red as he walked to the bathroom to take a look. A few red and purple marks had decorated his neck and shoulders. He chuckled as he looked at them, a strange feeling of being proud overcoming him.

"Looks like you were busy." Jose comments from the door frame. "Get some sleep, si? Then meet me down at the club on ninth Street later."

A few hours later when Curly woke up for the second time that day, he took a quick shower before he met up with Jose. A smile stuck to his face as he thought about the early morning events he participated in. He didn't know how to feel or how he felt, he just knew that he felt good. Closer even. He wondered if he was in love, the thought would often cross his mind being that he never counted as actually being in love. He'd have conversations like this with Tim and Jimmy, asking their opinions.

"Nah, you're just wrapped up. It'll pass." They'd say.

He wondered what they'd say now. He felt different from how he felt before. The thought made him miss Tim and Jimmy even more, but he quickly shook it off. He knew what those feelings would lead him back to, and right now he needed to stay focused.

Curly met up with Jose around noon, meeting at a drive in instead of the club. He had been selling with Jose, he had more customers than he usually had because the Christmas season was coming up. Curly had been so busy he hardly noticed it was approaching, he was sort of glad, that way he didn't have to focus on his bullshit family traditions that he'd be missing out on. He wondered if Angela would want to do it without him there. He could hear her now, whining about how it wouldn't be the same. And he guessed he wouldn't be the same.

"Hey handsome, the usual." A customer said.

Curly didn't think twice as he reached into his pocket and handed the dust to her. She handed back 2 twenty dollar bills, which didn't make Curly surprised as he pocketed the money. He was a big hit with the females and he always got extra. Connie also helped bring in a little extra with her boobs always showing. The customers liked it.

Curly's eyes wandered around the drive in, taking in everyone's appearances. His eyes kept landing on one kid and he couldn't exactly figure out why. He looked so familiar but he couldn't pinpoint it. Curly looked to Jose, who had been busy flirting with a skinny female a few feet away from him. It took Curly a few minutes to remember who it was. And when he did, a sweat broke out and his hands started shaking anxiously. The memories came running back so vividly, seeming as if he remembered every detail. He wasn't nervous. He was pissed. The cause of his stupid ass nightmares was standing in front of him and he wanted nothing more than to go over there and smash his face in a brick wall.

"What you staring at nino?" Jose chuckled.

Curly took in a deep breath, eyes narrowing as he looked over at him. He was laughing casually at the movie playing. He was alone which made Curly feel even better, even more anxious. His hands squeezed into fists as he looked over at the kid, ready to pounce on him like a lion.

"That's him."

"Quien? Que pasa?" Jose asked, his voice lowering and becoming more serious.

"That motherfucker with the screwdriver, ese. That's him." Curly replied through gritted teeth.


	20. T O C H A N G E

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Curly finds himself becoming a man

Curly rested his head in his hands, attempting to listen to whatever Connie was going on about. He hadn't gotten much sleep the previous nights and he'd constantly find himself bolting awake in bed from a dream he couldn't quite remember. He had a strange feeling in his stomach and he didn't exactly know why. Business had been good, he had more money then he ever had and he was with a girl he absolutely adored. He just couldn't figure out why he was feeling so dull.

Connie asked him to meet her for lunch. He did about an hour after he dropped Daisy off at class. He thought she would've had something important to say but she just wanted to "shoot a breeze".

"So has Tim made any moves?" Curly asked while she was speaking mid-sentence.

Connie took in a deep breath and looked down, obviously holding on to something she didn't want Curly to know. "Uh.. He.. He's trying to get himself a little gang together but as far as I know it's dangerous over there. They're passed rumbles now.." Connie trailed off.

Curly chewed the dead skin on his lip and fiddled with his fingers. He never thought he'd see the days rumbles didn't work anymore. He had been to naive for his own good then, gangs just continue to advance and they continue wanting more. They want to inflict pain on everyone, over what? Money. Curly would often find himself in bed late at night asking if it was even worth it. Sure he felt good when he had money and conducted a big play. He felt powerful. But he reckoned he was only genuinely happy when he was with Daisy, actually laughing.

"Mm." Curly muttered out. "That sure is something."

A few awkward moments passed by before Connie leaned in slightly, "Jimmy and Tim really miss you."

Curly's eyes looked up to meet hers, Jimmy and Tim? Actually missing up? The thought seemed strange, foreign in his mind. He couldn't wrap his head around it, he thought Tim was glad he was gone. He didn't have anyone to look after anymore, no one to argue with him. He guessed it was one of Tim's non-sexual fantasies to get rid of him. Connie had to be bluffing, there had to be something she wanted. Was she attempting to butter him up and move in while he's vulnerable to make her plan?

"What's your deal, Connie? You ain't never been about the sentimental shit before. Why now?" Curly spits a bit too aggressively.

Connie flinches only slightly before the famous Winston scowl comes across her face. "Maybe I'm tryna be nice, ever thought about that?!"

"Huh." Curly says with a sarcastic chuckle. "A Winston ain't never nice."

"Alright fine. Everyone wants you home but you're too stupid to notice it. I thought maybe if you knew how much everyone missed you you'd come home and things would go back to normal.."

"Normal?"

"Yeah. Normal. Not that I don't enjoy selling together but y'know. Chilling back on the street, you and Tim hosting parties with your 'amigos' me and you.. Having fun." She trailed off.

Curly frowned. That wasn't normal, not to him. It was just a thing of the past. Just like she had been.

"Is it some sort of thought you get off to or something? Wanna fuck a Chicano and think you're a hot shot?" Curly shoots out.

"Fuck you!" Connie replies. "If you weren't being so dumb you'd realize I got feelings for you. You're so stupid you don't even notice that everyone's fucking obsessed with you, Curly.. your family, your friends."

He wanted to laugh, the words coming out of her mouth seemed so stupid. He wondered if this was some sort of plan between her and Dallas or her and Tim. Were they trying to get him to crave? Had they heard about his success and wanted a piece of the pie? He couldn't tell, her face was unreadable.

"Connie, I'm involved with someone else." Curly begins.

It's weird saying that too, he had never really said it out loud. He was set on trying to protect her so he avoided saying it out loud. Telling someone made it feel more official. More real. Even if it was just to a girl who confessed her feelings for him. "And as for mi familia. I'm sure I'm dead to them."

Over the past year his family proved to him how little family meant. Tim was selling drugs to the woman who gave birth to him and they covered up his old man's murder and his tios ostracized Jose. He was sure family almost meant nothing but some sort of title.

"Look, I gotta go. Maybe things'll be better next time we see each other." Curly said quickly.

He stood up from the booth and threw a few dollars on the table to settle the bill and quickly left before Connie could say anything. He didn't feel too hot. All he wanted to do was go home and smoke a cigarette, lay down with Daisy and not say anything, just listen to music. But Jose had something to take care of and Daisy had church. All that would just have to wait for when he wasn't busy all the time. He never would've thought selling would be more exhausting than school.

"Hey watch-" Curly began, looking up to see who he walked in to.

His body had froze, it felt like his mind had left completely and he was incapable of processing the moment. It had been about 5 months since he had last seen her, screaming with her boyfriend and making him hate his life. She looked better than she did last time, still beautiful but tired.

"Ma?"

"Chici?" Glorianna started.

Curly looked in her eyes, she looked confused, distraught. But she didn't look high or drunk and he was thankful for that. He stayed at a distance, he wasn't sure if he should hug her or walk away. She looked at him with guilt, tears pooled in her eyes giving her the appearance of a light glass. Curly flinched when she suddenly lunged at him and wrapped her arms around him. He thought about Angela and how she was so similar to their Ma. Yet she hated her. He wondered why it was so easy for Angela to hate her yet so hard for him? Through everything she put him through, he actually melted in her arms, he felt safe. And he hated that he felt that way.

"What you been up to mijo?" Glorianna asked as she sipped her coffee.

The two sat at a park bench, Glorianna sitting with her legs together like Daisy did, both hands wrapped around her coffee. Curly leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, smoking and blowing it out towards the ground. He couldn't face her, he felt too guilty, like he was betrayed Angela. And he couldn't leave or he'd betray his Ma.

"Nada.." Curly replied. "Y tu?" (Nothing, and you?)

Glorianna sighed and sipped her coffee. "I've been trying to get better, mijo. It's... it's hard baby."

"You could come back home.. or you could go to Jose's. I've been staying there."

Glorianna set her coffee down and turned to look at Curly. "You've been staying with Jose? Por que?"

"Tim kicked me out. He found out I was selling."

Glorianna kept a harsh stare before turned and shaking her head. "Dios mio, mijo. Jose's not good for you."

"And Tim is?" Curly scoffed.

Curly could see Glorianna's face turn red, both from the cold hair and from her anger. "Your hermano has done everything for you! I don't ever wanna hear you say that again."

"Like sell drugs to you?!"

"Callate!" (Shut up) "Don't go sticking your nose where it doesn't belong Charles, entiendes? Your brother has done everything in your favor! I would've gotten them anyway, at least I wouldn't of been dead on the street from being laced... Curly don't be mad at your brother, he's taken care of you when I didn't."

Curly didn't reply, instead he look down at his tattoo.

"Te quiero mucho. Pero don't be mad at your brother. He'd give his life for you."

Curly nodded slowly. He didn't completely agree with her and he didn't want to take the time to think about it. But he'd rather not waste the little bit of time he had with his mother, not when her life couldn't be promised. She was an addict and he learned at a young age not to trust her or else she'd hurt him once again.

"Hey Jose.. Is this shit important?" Curly asked as he looked out the window.

A few hours after Curly talked to his mom he met up with Jose. The sun was going down and they had been on a deserted road for quite some time. Curly wasn't sure but he felt like he was deep in the country, Jose hadn't told him anything about what they were doing, just that it was to be done tonight.

"It's something that needs to be done." Jose said simply.

Curly took a deep breath and leaned his headback on the headrest. He closed his eyes and listened to the sound of the car squeak. He thought back to his meeting with his mom and what she said. He wasn't sure if he was able to just forgive Tim for everything he did. He was sure Tim didn't give a shit anymore. And what would become of Curly if he did forgive him? The Shepard Gang was going through changes and he was probably already replaced.

"We're here." Jose said once the car stopped.

Curly opened his eyes and looked at his surroundings. They were in the deep plains of Oklahoma, where no one came unless you wanted to serious business like murder. Curly 2 other cars, parked with their lights still and men in the drivers seat. He looked towards Jose who motioned for him to get out of the car. Curly's heartbeat quickened and his legs felt like they'd give out. He wondered if Jose knew he had been pocketing extra money. Was he taking him out here to teach him a lesson? Jump him? Curly had done things like this before, taking someone to a deserted area and beating the shit out of them. He kept his mouth shut, just in case he didn't know. He had known that with working for police, never crack.

Jose whistled and motioned for the other men to come out. Curly had recognized them as people he had seen before when they were teaching him the basics and showing them about his side hustle. He felt Jose's hand come down and land on his shoulder which made Curly even more nervous. It was when Jose let out a soft chuckle that made Curly calm down some.

"Curly, this here is La Garcia Gang. Your reputation comes from this. You'll be 17 in shit... about a few days? It's time for you to really become a man. Tonight's the night. Let's go chicos."

Curly eyed the men as they went to the backseat of the car and dragged something out from the backseat. He figured it was a person once he heard the dreadful moaning. They shoved him into the middle, right in front of the car lights so everyone could see. "On your knees cabron." The man said, kicking the person in the back of his knee.

The person got on their knees, pleading over and over "Please don't hurt me."

It was when they removed the bandana Curly knew who it was and why they were there. The fucking screwdriver. This was an informal initiation. None of the gangs in Curly's neighborhood did this kind but it wasn't unheard of. The final step to a gang was to take someones life. Only then were you considered authentic and official. He was always curious how these went, Tim never spoke of it and now that he thought about it he figured it's because Tim went through one of his own.

"I've been grooming you. Selling, being around the block, getting you a gun. It's time chico." Jose said.

Curly looked to Jose, then the Garcia Gang, and then the kid. He was crying, begging with tears and snot. The sight made him almost laugh at how pitiful he looked, when Curly was jumped he wouldn't dare do it. It would only edge them on. He thought countless times and many nights how he'd get his revenge on the screwdriver but he never thought it would be like this. Killing him. Curly weighed his options, if he told Jose no, there's a good chance he'd die out there too. Gangs were like that, it was considered disrespectful.

He slowly reached in the waistband of his pants, still looking everyone over. They were waiting patiently and he wondered if they were always like this. Maybe it was because he was some sort of "legacy". Curly's hands shook as he looked over his gun, a pretty black thing. He wondered what Daisy would think if she saw him right now, if she'd cry or something. His mind flashed to her cross necklace, how it was always flashing in his eyes. He thought of Tim and what he would do. Would he say fuck it? How old was Tim when he killed someone?

"Go on, Curly. Don't be a fucking puta! Kill the fucking maricon, little worm." Jose egged on.

Curly took in a deep breath and looked at the Screwdriver kid. His eyes stared into Curly's like he was reading his soul. "Man, I'm sorry. Please. I got family. A daughter at home."

"Curly." Jose said again, a little bit of anger and impatience adding on.

Curly raised the gun, his hands shaking with every inch until he was sure his aim was perfect. He attempted to block out the screams of the kid. He didn't want to do this but it was his life or Curly's. He looked over at Jose, and Jose looked at him, giving him a slight nod. Curly took in a deep breath, looked down and pulled the trigger, immediately silencing the screams. It was deathly quiet, the sound of the gun firing still ringing in Curly's ears. He was frozen, stuck in place. Then suddenly he could hear laughter. He felt weird. Like he wasn't here, like he wasn't in his body.

"Good shot you bastard." Jose chuckled, slapping him on the back. "You're finally a man. Finally a Garcia."

Curly put the gun back in his pocket, barely listening to the orders Jose gave the men. He was focused on the body that was once alive. The body that was once a person who jumped him. A teenager. With a daughter. Who cried for his life. He just killed him. He took someones life. Was this what Tim was hiding from him? The guilt from a murder? Curly dropped the gun and quickly doubled over, knees on the ground, emptying the content in his stomach with the eyes staring at him. He could see now that he got him in the head. He now understood, what his dream had been about.

The rest of the night had been a blur and it felt like it was the nightmare Curly keep dreaming. Except it was now real. He had gotten back in the car and was taken to Jose's house. Pretending. But he wasn't really there. His mind was somewhere else. Anywhere else but with them. He had gotten a new tattoo on his arm, it said Garcia in small cursive letters. It was official now. He'd be considered a Garcia. He took a shower, attempting to wash his guilt off. He had been too far to get any blood on him but he felt like he had been covered in it. His skin was rubbed raw from scrubbing blood that he imagined to be there. Jose was passed out drunk once Curly slipped out the front door. He went to the only place he knew he could go to.

Her light had been out, like he expected. But she opened the window a few seconds after she knocked. She rubbed at her eyes, yawning as she opened her window. She sat in her bed and pulled her covers up. She hadn't said anything, he figured it was because she was sleeping. Curly relaxed back on the bed with Daisy's head resting on his chest. She had fallen asleep quickly as he he stared up at the window. It was in that moment he realized how thankful he was for her. That she was his everything. His "alma". He listened to her breathing and Stevie Wonder's Someday at Christmas. Man, had he fucked up.


	21. S C A R E D

Curly found himself outside of his house, well his family house around six o clock that evening when he was sure no one would be home. The house looked the same, rundown with no curtains to decorate it, a rusted fence hanging around it with brown grass and occasionally green patches. He wondered how a sight so horrid could give him so much comfort, especially during his time of distress. He wasn't sure why he was there or what made him take a walk over there, he had been set on his "never look back" attitude, but now here he was.

He stepped up the front steps put his key in the lock, turning the knob and stepping in the house. He felt uneasy as he shut the door behind him, it felt odd suddenly stepping into his home. He had grown used to calling Jose's crackerbox his home, but now that he was here he realized that Jose's place we never be home. All his memories were here. No matter if they were good or bad, this house shaped him into what he was. Jose's place had molded him into a murderer. Curly shook the horrid thought and inched in through the house, running his fingers over the table tops and smelling the familiar scent. Memories skyrocketed through his brain like a movie. He never though that he would miss this place but he missed a lot more than he thought he did.

He found his way in his bedroom, which was the same way he left it with only minor adjustments that only Curly would be able to pick out. His floorboards were properly put back into place, a photo was sitting on top of his dresser, it was Curly, Tim, and Angela down at the movies together, Tim had just gone through his first growth spurt which made the height difference significant. Tim had to have been thirteen in the picture and he towered over Angela and Curly. Curly wondered how, or why it got there and who brought it there.

"Curly?" A voice asked from the doorway.

It made Curly jump a smidge but he knew who it was. Jimmy Russo, his best friend. It may have been a bit cliche but he could recognize Jimmy's voice from anywhere. Curly set the photo down and moved to face Jimmy, an uneasy feeling in his stomach. Jimmy looked nervous and somewhat confused.

"I thought... um... happy birthday, man." Jimmy stammered out awkwardly.

Curly felt like he could laugh. It slipped his mind completely that his birthday was today because of the stress from the past few days. He was focusing on avoiding Jose and hoping he wouldn't be going to jail. He wasn't completely worried about that, he was sure Jose's boys could hide a body, and good at that. He was waiting for when his name would show up in the paper. He wasn't prepared for that, he wasn't ready to know his name and who he killed. His nightmares constantly drained him and he saw the kid's face every night, that was more than enough reason to forget your birthday.

"Let me guess. You forgot it was your birthday?" Jimmy chuckled.

The young hood moved to sit on half-assed made bed, the sound of springs squeaking as it supported his weight. He fiddled with his thumbs while trying come up with something to say to Jimmy. He wanted to talk with someone about this, how they got over it. He could tell the Jose was ruthless and it was only just an average day for him. He needed to talk to someone like Tim or Antonio about where he should go from there.

"Curly... c'mon man. You're scarin' the shit outta me." Jimmy said nervously as he ruffled his fingers in his heavily greased hair.

The shakiness in Jimmy's voice seemed to snap Curly back into reality. He knew that he was probably putting Jimmy on edge, he probably felt like Curly was close to having one of his outbursts again. He'd have no choice but to call Tim or Angela and he didn't want to start trouble if they found out he was there. Curly took a deep breath and wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans, jumping up and walking passed Jimmy.

"I gotta get outta here."

"Wait. C'mon man.. Y'know you shouldn't be walking around this neighborhood. Let's just go find us something to eat. Talk a little.."

Curly stopped walking when he reached the front of Tim's room. He could feel Jimmy on his heels, too nervous to touch him. He slowly turned around and nodded at Jimmy.

They had found themselves at an old diner, laughing and sipping on milkshakes with Curly's cash. Curly leaned back against the wall with one leg bent on the bench he was sitting at. He was bobbing his head to the light christmas music playing on the juke and they were sharing their fry basket like they always did. Curly felt okay.

"I sure as hell missed this." Jimmy says as he leans back and rubs his stomach.

"Me too, Jim."

"We miss you." Jimmy admitted quietly. "They want you to come back."

Curly shrugged as he washed his food down with his drink. He was sure they hadn't missed him, instead they probably felt guilty that the youngest member of their gang was running amok after they failed to keep an eye on him. "Nah, doubt it. Tim probably just feels guilty."

"He ain't been the same since you left... I'll tell you that. Shepard Gangs always on edge.. ." Curly didn't reply, instead he awkwardly played with his lumpy milshake with the spoon that came with it. Jimmy could sense the awkwardness and eventually cleared his throat. "Enough about that, what were you planning on doing for your birthday?"

Curly let out a light chuckle from the irony. For months he had been throwing it in people's faces that he'd be 17 and now it was here and he had no plans for it. He wasn't excited like he thought he'd be and surprisingly he wasn't disappointed.

"Probably have a beer and eat a cupcake."

He figured Daisy would've brought him a cupcake from a bakery, she probably remembered his birthday which made him smile. He was sort of excited about seeing her later after this.

"We could go to party... find you a few honeys." Jimmy winked.

Curly laugh and shook his head as he thought of Daisy. The idea didn't sound appealing and he wouldn't be okay with himself if he lied or hurt Daisy. Her heart was pure and he was scared doing something as evil as that would break her. Not to mention he would probably get the worlds worst ass whooping of all time from her and her brother both, surely she would tell him if a scenario like that happened.

"My girl would cut my dick off."

"Scuse me? Your girl?" Jimmy asked with raised eyebrows.

It reminded Curly of how Angela would react when he just told her some good gossip. The only difference would be is that Angela would be eager to hear it. It was like she just discovered the secrets to immortality. Angela thrived off of the information of others, she probably kept a mental notebook.

"Yeah... My girl." Curly chuckled.

"Well shit. That's a sight I thought I'd never see. You ain't giving her a ring?"

It was a thought that never came across Curly's mind. He had never been one for giving rings out because it would put him on display and if it didn't work out he'd feel stupid. But the idea of giving Daisy one, he wasn't exactly opposed to it. He figured people would probably nag her about who's ring she was wearing in the first place.

"If she wants one, she can wear my ring."

Jimmy nodded before a childish, devious smirk appeared on his face.

"Getting lots of pootang?" He asked before he looked around and leaned in.

Curly laughed at the question. For others like the Socs or middle class, the topic was found to be taboo, however hoods were passed that, they often went against the norms of society. It wasn't as if they would ever be included. He shrugged as he leaned his head back against the wall, he felt like they were boys again, laughing together in the dead of night.

"Uh, sure." Curly said as he thought back to it. "You could say that."

He usually stayed over for a few times a week. He'd climb in her window late at night and just stare at her ceiling thinking about how lucky he was to be there considering what a "fuck up" he was. He'd eventually fall into a light sleep and wake up a few hours later with a cold sweat going down his back and his heart racing faster than he could handle. She'd usually wake up and calm him down, talk quietly in the dark about his problems until one thing led to another.

"I could never be tied down like that." Jimmy groaned at the thought, his nose turned up as he frantically shook his head.

"I take it you and Kathy Phelan broke it off then?"

Jimmy was never one for stretching out relationships but he had no doubt that him and Kathy Phelan would probably get back together at least a few more times before Jimmy called it quits and moved on to the next girl and repeat the same cycle. That was just Jimmy.

"She was a real gas but we had our fun. That's over now."

Curly shook his head jokingly before checking his watch and noticing that it was almost 11. He was tired and he wanted to get as much sleep as he possibly could before he woke back up again. Jimmy noticed the actions from Curly and his face dropped a bit as they came out of their old days reunion. "I guess you gotta get back, huh?"

"Yeah.." Curly replied. He didn't really want to go but he wasn't sure if he could jump back in with both feet. "I guess I'll see you around?"

"How 'bout we see each other around real soon?" Jimmy asked with hope in his voice. It made Curly smile that he felt the same way. He nodded as he stood up from the bench.

"Yeah.. Real soon."

"Man, I'm sorry. Please. I got family. A daughter at home." the kid choked out.

"Jose, please, I can't do this." Curly said as he looked to Jose.

"You wanna be a man so bad? Be a fucking man!" Jose yelled as he shoved the gun closer to Curly.

"Yeah ese, be a man. What's wrong? You bit off more than you could handle?" The kid taunted.

His head had been splattered with blood and his eyes were barely there. Curly dropped the gun screaming bloody murder as everything went black.

Curly quickly sat up in the bed, frantically breathing in and out. He felt like he could barely get any ear through. His mind had been running wild as he tried to make sense of everything and recognize that he wasn't dreaming anymore. He tried to regulate his breathing but calmed down some when he felt a hand touch his shoulder.

"Relax... You had a bad dream." Daisy said in a hushed tone.

She sat up and moved closer to Curly and gently wrapped her arms around him. She was careful not to move too fast, just in case he wasn't completely calmed down from his nightmare. The action calmed him down slightly as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. She had told him before that James used to have bad nightmares and he'd never calm down until someone brought him back into reality. It had gotten worse when Willy left the house and he had to rely on Daisy.

"You're okay." She hushed. "Just sit back."

After a few moments Curly finally sat back and opened his eyes. That nightmare was the worst one, they usually varied with different scenarios from that night, tied in with familiar people, however, that one was the worse. It felt so close to his reality when he was dreaming and it felt so real.

"I'm sorry I woke you up." Curly said finally.

"Its okay. I would've woke up soon anyway." She sighed.

She ran his fingers through Curly's hair and moved it off his forehead. He tried to not focus on everything he had done and stay in the moment but he felt guilty. He didn't deserve any of this. He was dirty, a murdered. He deserved to be somewhere in the dirt instead of that kid he killed. He couldn't of been more than 17 and he was gone. He wondered if it was true, if he really had a daughter. Even if he didn't his family would still be missing him.

"Tell me what's on your mind." Daisy said suddenly. "You've got a new tattoo and nightmares."

Curly shrugged and shook his head, immediately covering up that Garcia tattoo. It felt more like a trademark than a tattoo and it disgusted him. "We'll talk about it later."

"Alright... well, I almost forgot.." Daisy yawned as she leaned over and rummaged through her drawer. She pulled out a silver chain that sparkled in the moonlight as she pushed it into his hands. It was a Saint Christopher, a necklace most boys were familiar with on his side of town. "It's for protection."

Curly smiled as he looked at it and then at her. She had a tired smile resting on her face as she look at him. He brought her in for a kiss before clipping the necklace around his neck. "Happy birthday, and merry Christmas, Curly."

Comments

Guest, yess Connie gets her story I'm so excited. Curly's definitely going to be realizing a lot in the next few chapters. Thank you so much for reading and commenting!

Phoenix arisen again Tim's got a lot of guilt that should pour out soon. And Curly sort of joined the Garcias, the Shepard Gang was made from their reputation because his uncles started that gang. Curly's a Garcia from his mom so he had a birthright but he killed for them which meant he was initiated into their gang :(

Thanks for reading and commenting guys I really appreciate it! This book will be done soon but there will be another that I'm already working on. My question is what would you guys like to see more of in the second book (It will be titled Bloody End) like more Shepard Gang, more drama etc..

I have published my Connie Winston book but it's only one chapter

The Golden Misfits will be updated after Hoodlum Tragedies so be on the lookout for chapter 4 this week.

And a book about Jimmy is in the works.

I was also thinking of a modern au version of this story but I'm having trouble starting it. Anyway thanks so much!


	22. *Notice*

Believe it or not, this book is almost finished. There will be about 3 more chapters and then the book will be over. However, this isn't the end of the series (which I call The Shepard Trials and Tribulations). There will be a sequel that I'm thinking will come out in February, titled Bloody End.

I won't be putting the official summary or anything out yet because I haven't finished this book yet lol, just a warning and heads up, once I release Bloody End, I'll be updated and editing this book, you can reread if you want, there'll be more details, maybe extra scenes (NSFW scenes) and so on but not too much of a difference that would impact the second story

Thanks everyone for reading, I really appreciate it :))

For the next book I'm planning for it to be much more intense, descriptive, sad and all that.


	23. T H E S T A R T

"You're sure no one's here?" Curly asked as he crouched through Daisy's window.

It seem effortless now to get in there because he had been doing it so much. She was standing in front of the window, a tan skirt and a tight blouse, leaning against her beds rail.

"Mhm.." She hums. "Pa's gone outta town and James is visiting Willy while he's gone. You've got the shower to yourself."

She smiles once he shuts her window, pulling her in to greet her with a morning kiss. "Thanks Dais, I really appreciate it."

When Curly says it, he means it. After his birthday, he spent hours contemplating on whether he'd skip out on Jose or just continue to be a soldier for him. He came to the conclusion in the early hours in the morning, packing up the rest of Jose's supply and leaving his car keys on the table. He knew that Jose would be pissed that Curly left, he hadn't been too long initiated into the Garcias before abandoning them.

"Here's your towel. Guess we can figure out breakfast when you're done." Daisy says as she hands him a towel.

Ever since he left Jose's he had been trying to sleep wherever he could. Whether it was at Buck's on sleeping on the hardwood floor because all the bed's were gone, he was taking what he could get. Of course Daisy would let him stay but he didn't like bothering her everynight to open her window. He couldn't do it anymore, he couldn't be involved with Jose, not after the murder. It was obvious he was cold blooded, Jose was the type of person to do three drive-bys and stop to get ice cream afterward. Curly figured it was the thoughts like this that made him carry his gun more often. It seemed as if the thing was attached to his hip, hell, he barely went anywhere without it. If need be, he'd use it without hesitation. The paranoia was eating at him and carrying the gun gave him some sort of strange relief.

He frowned at it as he set it down on top of the counter near the sink and stepped into the shower. Standing under the water and thinking about the past few months and the mess he got himself in. It was much deeper than a turf war now, he deserted The Garcias.

Curly was taken from his thoughts when he heard a soft knock on the door and Daisy calling for him.

"Hey, you almost done?" She asks from the other side of the door.

"Uh.. Yeah." Curly replies while running his fingers through his wet hair. "I mean, you could always join me if you wanted." He teases.

"Oh you're hilarious." She giggled. "I'm coming in.. I think I lost my brush in here."

The sound of the door can be heard and he could feel the chilly air seeping in through the bathroom. He could hear her light hums as she manuevered around the bathroom but suddenly stopping and gasping. Curly's heart drops and he feels like the biggest damn fool in all of Tulsa for leaving his gun on the counter.

"Curly.." She mumbles softly. "Why do you have a gun?"

Curly's heart thumps against his chest and he can't think of a response. He felt more embarrassed than anything about gang banging. He wondered if she'd try to leave him or be upset about it. He turns off the shower and reaches for his towel and even though it's only been a few moments, a few seconds, it feels like it's been minutes.

"I guess it's time we talk." Curly says as he opens the shower curtain.

Daisy sits on top of the toilet seat with her legs crossed at the ankles. Her eyes are looking at the gun as if it's the devil himself resting on her counter. She then turns her gaze towards Curly and blushes when she notices he's only wearing a towel.

"Is it.. is it the same reason you left your Tio Jose's? And y'know the.. drug dealing?" Her voice is so quiet he can barely hear it.

He can feel his hands begin to sweat as she looks over at him and all he can think about his her reaction. Will she start crying? Will she react like his passed lovers and try to get him to stop. He wonders if he would stop selling if she asked, if she really wanted to, he just might. But he knew if the Shepard Gang ever needed him, then he'd be there. He took an oath for them. But he couldn't predict her reaction, it was hard to say because she never said anything about it, but it was more than obvious that she knew.

"I reckon you could say that it's… along the lines." He stutters like a kid being caught with his hands down his pants. "I ain't on good terms with a lotta people right now."

She nods slowly and her eyes look back up at him. He looks her over to make sure se isn't crying, and she isn't. But her eyebrows are pushed together and she looks highly confused. "I'd prefer you didn't hide it."

"I didn't wanna scare you off."

She laughs lightly with a bit of sarcasm and disbelief. "Curly.. I ain't stupid. Have you forgotten all those times you came to me bloodied and roughed up? I know what you and Willy do and although I don't like it.. I'm here for you. We've already been through so much now, yeah?"

She stands up and walks closer towards him, pushing a piece of hair away from his face. "Don't worry, Curly. I ain't going nowhere."

Curly can feel his cheeks getting hot and a smile tugging on his lips. His heartbeat quickens as he pulls her in for kiss, his arms wrapping around her waist. "I adore you, Daisy."

She giggles and tries to move out of his grip. "Curly! You're getting me all wet!" She shrieks.

Curly smirks once she reaches the door. "Well. It wouldn't be the first time." He says once she leaves. He could only imagine the blush she had on her face and thinking of it gives him a smile. A genuine smile.

A few hours later Curly stood out in the darkness of the night, the only light source was from the various stores opened on The Ribbon and the car lights. The cold air circled him as he stood around in the January wind. It could've been worse. He could've been in New Jersey again, starving and freezing in negative temperatures.

There weren't many people outside and he could expect that. He wasn't too thrilled to be wasting his night, standing at The Ribbon and selling in the cold but Connie and him weren't on speaking terms and he had to make money somehow, especially because he wasn't working for Jose anymore and he had to build up his own hustle. He had to make sure he was careful selling in his neighborhood because he was considered "rogue". Initially, he didn't want to come and he wasn't going to. But once Daisy told him she was going out dancing with her friend Karen (who he suspected was jealous that him and Daisy were together) he decided on going out anyway. A part of him was hoping he'd run into Jimmy again and they could go out and talk. But of course he knew he was playing with fire while selling alone and out in the open. He just needed a sign that said "ATTACK ME!" But he was trusting that a cop was sitting in the parking lot eating his donut. The worse he expected, was to spend the night in jail. Which he didn't mind all that much.

It was when Curly noticed the familiar beat up car driving down The Ribbon, he tensed and debated on whether he'd leave. He scrapped the idea quickly, instead, tightening his hands around the rusted fence and turning around to face the open field. From what he could see, he saw only Tim in the front seat, which made him relieved that no one else in the gang was there. His stomach flipped once he heard footsteps approaching him and he felt a cold sweat running down his back. He nearly flinched once he felt a hand drop onto his shoulder, giving him an awkward pat. He figured he was anticipating a good ol' smack instead.

"Tim?"

"What you doing out here, cabron?" Tim sighs, elbows leaning on the fence and taking the same position as Curly.

Curly sunk his head lower and the familiar feeling of shame washed over him. He thought about Tim and his hours long discussions with him where he made him feel guilty and he had the famous look of disappointment over his face. He felt like he was five again, being scolded because he stole Tim's cookie before dinner. It made him nervous that Tim was here. Was he reclaiming what was "his" to make a point to Jose? Collecting his "debt"?

"I'm just working." Curly grumbled.

Tim chuckled lightly before nodding his head slowly. "Caray." He sighed. "You're quite the seller, ain't you?"

"Didn't think I could do it?" Curly asked which made Tim chuckle harshly.

"I knew you could. I knew you would."

Curly focused his eyes on his fiddling fingers, he had been doing that to help cope with his newfound anxiety he was developing. The Doctors at the reformatory would always tell him he'd act crazy when he was stressed and it was probably because of his childhood. Boy, they'd get a run for their money if they saw him now.

"When you were born. I swore I'd protect you with everything I had. I'd do anything for you and Ang."

"Why'd you kick me out?" Curly asks, lifting his head to stare into a random store. Watching as the employees wiped down the table.

Tim took in a deep breath through his nostrils, he strangely could remember his old man doing the same thing, and running his thumb over his bottom lip like Tim was doing now. "Because I was pissed. I tried so hard to keep you from being like me but I always knew that someday you would. That you'd sell like me, get in trouble like me. I was just pissed at everyone. I thought you'd come home but.. I was wrong." He scoffed. It was the first time Curly ever actually noticed the guilt Tim felt. He felt terrible, sick. "I fucked you up, Angie, Ma."

"We'll be alright." Curly said quickly. "You can't blame yourself for something that was her job as our mother." Curly was shocked that he was actually denouncing his mother in front of Tim, something he would never do. He'd defend her washed up honor until he turned blue in the face. It seemed that after the talk he had with her, he realized all her faults and how they contributed to the downfall of the family. And yet, he still felt pain for her. But the pain and love he felt for Tim was bigger. He was grateful.

"It's time for you to come home, carnal."

Curly shook his head quickly as he thought back to Jose and The Garcia Gang. He put his hand over that Garcia branding. He belonged to them now and he knew they didn't take it lightly if someone left the gang. You left through death and there wasn't another way. It was only a matter of time before they caught up with Curly.

"If Jose wants a war. That's what I'll give that sneaky puta. A gang is a brotherhood, not someone's property, you dig?"

"Shepard Gang doesn't need another war." Curly pointed out.

He heard from Angela and Daisy that their war between Tiber was getting even more intense, it wasn't as bad as it could be but Shepard Gang didn't need to take on another responsibility just because Curly was being a brat. He wondered what they thought about his tantrum and him running away. He wondered if they really missed it.

"We're blood, carnal. Don't forget that, si?" Tim said, nudging Curly playfully. "When you get back to the house the same rules apply. You ain't grown, dig? You're seventeen you act like it. My rules. No late time pussy, no selling speed, don't touch me beers. And listen."

Curly managed to crack a smile as he looked up at his older brother. Tim slightly smiled back and leaned off the fence, motioning for Curly to follow along. He finally felt like things were getting back to the way they should've been.


	24. S T E P H E N S H E P A R D

Stephen placed his plate in the sink after quickly gulping it down. He growled after he checked his watch, already highly annoyed that he was an hour late meeting with Jose. He made way to slip a light jacket over his arms and tie his tennis shoes on but the sound of his lover clearing her throat made him pause.

"Going somewhere?" She questioned. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her lips pressed together tightly. He knew she was about to scold him and he didn't want to hear any of it. He wasn't in the mood.

"Uh." Stephen began, scratching his neck to try to spit out a believable answer. "Y'know.. I'll be back soon, Glo."

Glorianna quickly shook her head and dragged him to the side. "I thought you were supposed to be stopping this gang shit!" She yelled in a hush tone so she wouldn't grab their kids attention as they ate their lunch.

Stephen bit his lips and took in a frustrated breath. He felt like the conversation was a bit redundant, they had this talk at least once a week, if not more. The empty promises were frustrating Glorianna and he knew that, but he couldn't find a way to tell her that he couldn't abandon the Garcias. He was the leader and he didn't get there just by banging the founders sister. He had known the rough-neck Garcia boys ever since middle school, and since then Stephen made sure to prove himself worthy to them and became the best damn dealer Tulsa had ever seen. Which is why they promoted him and gave him the title of co-leader. It was something he knew Glorianna wouldn't understand as a woman, she held onto the thought of her brother Angel leaving to achieve a side hustle and living without the gang. She swore religiously that it was just as easy for Stephen to do it. She missed the obvious fact that he didn't want to.

"You keep it up, and your kids won't have a daddy. It ain't like they know nothing about you now, you're never home. Curly's scared of you!"

"Quit it with that shit, Glo." Stephen said while flashing her a dirty look. "I'm doing what I can for this family, and for my Ma. Least I put food on the table."

Glorianna shifted her weight and he could see the anger rising on her face. It was obvious she was beyond furious with him and it made him feel guilty. Not because he made her this way or because of the gang, he was guilty because he didn't care. "You're just greedy! You swore that you'd stop once the twins turned five, now they're seven! And what the hell's your Ma ever done for you but whoop your ass around the block? The kids don't even know she's alive."

Stephen clenched his jaw and pushed himself off the wall, moving passed Glorianna and walking back into the living room to see Tim, his oldest kid helping Curly and Angela get their shoes on.

"But we ain't even have the rest of our dinner!" Curly protested as Tim tied his shoe.

"Who cares? Tim said we're gettin' ice cream." Angela smiled.

Stephen could hear Glorianna stomping off and slamming the door. Curly frowned once he noticed Stephen standing over them and they stared at each other, waiting for the other to say something. Tim hadn't even turned around and Stephen could say he was used to receiving the cold shoulder from him. He was older than the rest of them and he understood what was going on, he could hear every argument and he knew about the rumors going around town circulating about Stephen. Stephen was embarrassed to have not spent any time with either of his sons, nor bonded with them. They were different than he was. He couldn't stand to be around Tim's picky attitude and Curly's over explosive temper. The only one he could ever feel slightly comfortable around was Angela.

"Tim said we're getting ice cream, Daddy." She said brightly.

When he looked at her he wondered. He often wondered about all of his kids and what they'd turn out to be. He wondered if Angela would take a good path, smart in school, preppy like those kids he used to go to school with. Prudish enough to not let a guy touch her until they had been dating for quite some time. God, that's what he hoped but the dreadful thoughts always kept edging in. Would his boys be selling? Dead before they turned 18? Would Angela be knocked up by the time she was 15?

"That's good baby girl. Make sure you guys are back 'fore sun down. Don't give your momma no heart attack now, hear?"

Tim grumbled something lightly under his breath before cutting his eyes at Stephen. It was the same face Stephen had when someone was annoying him. Tim stood up and put his hands on Curly and Angela's back. Stephen wondered if it was out of defiance, just to spite Stephen or if it was genuine and trying to assert himself as their provider, their protector, just because he wanted to. He never knew but he knew that Tim had a knack for being a leader. Just like he had, but for Stephen, it was out of pure spite. He wanted his old man to feel bad that he skipped out on them and that he had to take the role of the head of the house. He didn't want to look out for his brother but he did so whenever he saw his sorry-ass on the other side of town with his more desired kids, he'd feel guilty for leaving them.

Tim turned his attention to the younger two, already engaging in a quiet conversation. Stephen rolled his eyes in response before grabbing his keys and making his way out the door, but pausing to yell to Glorianna that he'd be back but she shouldn't wait up. He didn't receive a response, and he didn't stay any longer. He knew she was probably crying or talking on the phone to one of her girlfriends, telling them how sorry and useless her husband was. The only thing he could think of doing was try to get home earlier that night. There was no telling. But he'd try.

Stephen met up with Jose about twenty minutes later. He walked, just in case Glorianna needed the car to chase the kids around town. Jose sat quietly, not even turning to greet Stephen and smoked on a cigarette. Jose must have been waiting for another shipment because he was sitting in a deserted area.

"We getting more product?" Stephen asked as he sat on a bench across from Jose.

The air had been awkward and thick and the feeling in Stephen's stomach scared him. He had a strange thought that urged him to get the hell out of there and he wasn't quite sure why. He had received tons of shipments with Jose, they were closer than he was with any of the other Garcias. They had been locked up together, and that sort of thing deepens your bond. The experiences and monstrosities push you closer together. It's comforting to know that someone else understood exactly what you were feeling.

"Mmm." Jose shrugged nonchalantly. "Yeah, little shipment and meeting. That's all."

Stephen nodded and pulled a cigarette out of his pants to ease his nerves. Shipments usually had other members come, but only one or two just to keep it discreet. A meeting was to be expected, they had them about twice a month, unless they were under fire and it was an emergency. Stephen had been doing great lately, going as far to pushing speed up to Gloriannas old home town. He was proud of what he had become and the name he made for the Garcias. He wouldn't have gotten this far without them, if they hadn't took him in, he and his Ma would've been living off the dust. A chicano with a white daddy didn't make it too far selling, there was an obvious distrust. But the Garcias recognized his talents and took him in, showed him the ins and outs. That's how he met Glorianna, the sweet little church girl. He could remember it clearly, her sassy tone and her naive mind. Meeting her was one of the best things to happen to him but growing up too fast was one of his biggest regrets. They only married because she got pregnant with Tim. Nonetheless, he still loved his kids, despite their lack of connection. He intended on making it better than his childhood, he could admit that so far he wasn't doing to hot in the dad or husband department but he had time to make it up to them. He just wanted to get comfortable first, then maybe he could mentor someone else and they'd take his spot and he'd overlook the business. It would make everyone happy and he wouldn't abandon anyone that way.

"They coming soon or what, man? We gotta get working." Stephen sighed.

Jose nodded and he looked over at Stephen was a conniving look that was no stranger to Stephen. That look was when Jose was overcome with greed, when he was feeling nothing but hatred. Usually, those who wronged him, and those he wanted out were on the other ends of that glare. Jose's eyes looked behind Stephen and it was at that moment he knew what was going on. Everything made sense. The feeling of the gun pressing against the back of his head made him release a cold sweat.

"You set me up Jose?" Stephen asked though they both knew the answer.

"You brought this on yourself." Jose said shortly. "Trying to show me out or somethin'. You're getting too cocky, cabron. Taking too much money!"

"Does Angel know? Glorianna?" Stephen asked. He tried keeping his cool, although his words came out a bit shaky.

"They can't tell me how to run the gang. You're getting too powerful and the minute you stepped up, you became my rival."

"Then put me out! Don't put a bullet in my head because of your jealous, fucking asshole. I'm the father of your nephews and your niece. They're gonna grow up without a daddy now because you can't handle being second." Stephen spat angrily.

Stephen was thrown off by the anger pulsing through his veins. His heart beat quickly as he kept his eyes on Jose and all he could think about was his family. It was ironic that being seconds away from death is the only time he ever started to feel guilty. The only time he wished he could've done things a lot differently. He hadn't kissed Glorianna or his kids goodbye. They'd never get a hug from him and they'd never know the Dad he had the potential to be. They would remember him as a sleazy deadbeat. And maybe he deserved it for his harsh, cold blooded nature. Every mistake he had ever made was coming to bite him in the ass. Every murder, every time he made an empty promise to his family.

"I can't chance it. You can turn me in, put our secrets out there. Maybe start another business like Angel and become my biggest competition. Fuck no. I can't let that happen."

Stephen nodded, dreading the awful feeling of that metal pressed in the back of his head. There wasn't anything he could do in this situation but think about his family. There was no point in running, they were both armed. Besides, Stephen was too proud to run. He'd die with his head up high. "Alright. Well. If I can't change your mind, make sure they got a better life than we did. They des-"

He pulled the trigger mid sentence, and with that he was cut short of his last sentence. He was killed instantly when the bullet hit him. His body collapsed on the dirt, bleeding out like a worthless pig. In an instant, a matter of seconds, Stephen was dead. His eyes were open and they were expressionless which was a rare sight to see. This was Jose Garcias third murder, and his first time murdering a member of his own gang.

Tim got back home a few hours later, and the family spent their night watching TV. They never called, for there wasn't a number to call. And they never suspected until the next morning when he never came home. Glorianna had been overcome with her thoughts. Did he skip out on them? Was he kidnapped?

Angel, Emiliano, and Javier found out about the news. A Garcia member had stepped forward after experiencing severe second-hand guilt and he told all. That it was indeed a Garcia member who pulled the trigger and Jose was the one who ordered it. The brothers were never that fond of Stephen, they never found him all that likable. Especially because he robbed their sister of the life she deserved because "she fell in love". However he was family, and that was what mattered to the Garcia brothers. They officially endedthe Garcia Gang, selling when they could with no intent on building an empire. They separated and looked out for Glorianna the best they could but in her blind rage she ordered them to stay away from her and her kids.

"You killed him!"

Sometime between the next three years, Glorianna Garcia-Shepard turned to the bottle, then she turned to pills. Tim began selling to be able to provide at the young age of thirteen. What was left of the Shepard and Garcia crumbled into a faint, distant memory for all of them. They never left Tulsa, that dreadful thought Stephen had about his kids came true. And they were all stuck with the memory of a sleazy greaser named Stephen Shepard who got too involved with the gangs.

Phoenixarisin

I looked up the song and I really think so too! Daisy probably has! Lol, thanks so much for reading :)


	25. T R A G E D I E S

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter of Hoodlum Tragedies

"They're throwing me a little welcome home party." Curly sighed as he rested his hand on his palm and carefully observed Daisy as she worked.

She cleaned the surface of the counter with a rag before flashing Curly a sympathetic look. "I'm sure it'll be a gas, what's worrying you?"

Curly shrugged and sipped on his milkshake. "I'll be seeing everyone and they'll be treating me different."

"How so?" She challenged.

Curly looked around the diner for what must have been the billionth time. Pouring his feelings out like some hung-up poet made him feel vulnerable, but with the diner being near empty, and the sight of a waitress and customer not raising many eyebrows, he didn't mind it too much.

"I dunno." He sighed. He checked his watch and noticed he was more than twenty minutes late showing up at the lot. "I've gotta get going.. You sure you don't need me to walk you?" Curly asked.

"Nah." Daisy replied as she hung her apron on the back hook. "Unless you wanna get better 'acquainted' with Willy." She joked lightly, but the both of them knew they dreaded the situation. The thought of the Shepard Gang and Brumley Boys knowing about their relationship put Curly on edge, as if he wasn't tense enough.

Curly's attention shifted from Daisy to the window, squinting so he could get a better look outside. He noticed that Jimmy's car had circled around the diner a few times. "Ha, it'd be a real blast." Curly smiled before gulping down the rest of his milkshake. "I'll see you later, Dais."

"Have fun!" She said to him.

"Don't miss me too much." He winked before getting up from his stool and walking out the diner, running quickly to flag down Jimmy. He sped over and the screeching sound of breaks filled the air.

"Angie told me you'd be here." Jimmy said through the rolled down window.

"Course she did." Curly grumbled as he jogged over to the passenger side, Jimmy not even waiting for him to close the door before speeding off.

"Man, everyone's here." Jimmy said as he pulled up to Curly's house.

He waited until Jimmy opened the car door for him to do the same, his heart was pounding through his chest as his hand reached the handle. Jimmy motioned for him to move faster but everything felt strange to him. There were strong traces of firewood and joints filling the air. He could hear loud laughing from the back of the house.

He moved closer to get inside the house first, to try to give himself a pep talk before reuniting with everyone but everyone seemed to notice him in that moment. The whole gang circled him and embraced him in a quick hug, he could barely stand his ground with everyone slapping him around like a Raggedy Anne.

"Shit, guys. Ease up a bit?" Curly chuckled.

There were some kids Curly hadn't recognized, rugged and tuff looking, standing a few feet away, carefully keeping their distance. He figured they were the new recruits. His heart rate had gone back to normal but the tense, anxious feeling hadn't ceased. He still felt on edge, like he didn't belong there.

"It's good to have you back, ese." Ed said in a hushed tone once everyone scattered away.

Curly stood in the outskirts of the bonfire, taking everything in and nursing his beer. Surprisingly, he had grown a strong dislike for it but beer was the only thing they had. He needed to have some sort of liquor to get him through the night or else he'd be chain smoking like a fiend.

Curly tried not to stare too hard at Ed's left eye, which he noticed had discoloration and hung lazily. Ed noticed the staring but shrugged it off. "I went blind in my left eye after I got jumped. Must've kicked me real good."

"Geez, man. I'm sorry."

"It's fine." Ed chuckled. "Least I can still see."

Curly never found himself to be a guy of a few words but as the night went on he became even more introverted. He didn't know if it was because he was used to spending so much time by himself or if the feeling was just too overwhelming. He excused himself and wandered off to the front of the house to the porch steps, looking at the sky and questioning his life.

"Welcome home, Charlie."

He knew that familiar, chilling voice belonged to Connie. Ironically, he had grown used to that nickname during their time as partners. Ever since the day of their argument, he hadn't talked to her and attempted to avoid anything regarding her.

"Thanks."

She swayed her hips when she went to sit next to Curly, and despite the temperature, she was wearing short shorts and a tight blouse. He wouldn't of expected anything less from Connie, she wanted everyone to see her. He figured it was because she never got any love when she was growing up.

"Dally skipped town again."

"Oh.." Curly mumbled awkwardly. "I'm.. Sorry to hear that?"

"Don't worry 'bout it." She chuckled and it made him debate on whether or not she was actually hurt over it. "Y'know, you're the only guy I ever had feelings for?"

"Really?" Curly questioned as he looked at his beer, not wanting to meet her icy blue eyes.

She kept her eyes pointed to the ground and he knew that she was drunk. She would have never admitted to anything so embarrassing while sober. Maybe about a year ago he probably would've took this as an opportunity to fuck her and then tell her to get lost. But he had been thinking about how them being partners and selling together strengthened their friendship and he was glad that it did. He liked the idea of them being friends.

"Mhmm." She slurred like a drunken housewife. "There was always something about you.. I guess we were too young to figure what to do about it."

"Nah." Curly said. He'd be lying if he said that he hadn't thought about them being together but each time he did the outcome was always the same. On the outside, they may have looked like they were the perfect match. But he knew there was something Connie lacked, and it was compassion. "Our age ain't got nothing to do with it, Connie. Me and you? C'mon, we wouldn't of worked. We're too alike. Rough necked kids who can't find a meaning. We'd be lost together."

He thought about Daisy and in that moment, he felt like she was the only one for him. There relationship had gone farther than some façade of sexual attraction. Daisy made it so she would find a purpose in everything she did. She made it so everyone around her could see a purpose too. Their bond and connection had grown in a short period of time but he was relieved to finally have realized it wasn't infatuation. She calmed him when he needed it, understood him when it felt like no one else in the world could. And she brought him back to the world when he was stuck. He felt confident knowing that Connie could never do it, and she never would, no matter how hard she wanted to. She just wasn't able to, and because of that, he knew they would never work.

"Maybe that's true." She pushed out with slight bitterness hanging off her tongue. "I guess she's good for you?"

"Yeah." Curly smiled genuinely.

"Good." Connie choked out. "I'm gonna get back to the party.."

Curly watched as she walked away, back towards the party and he realized that he, did, in fact love Connie Winston. But it was purely platonic and he'd never love her the way she loved him.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Got any plans for today?" Tim asked as he leaned on the counter.

Curly noticed the dark bags under his eyes, it was obvious he hadn't gotten any sleep the previous night due to the intense partying. Curly managed to sneak away around one o' clock in the morning, extremely drunk and exhausted. He hadn't even managed to get out of his clothes, and he hated sleeping with clothes on.

"Nah. Just gonna make a quick run and that's it." Curly shrugged.

Tim nodded and stirred the spoon his coffee, despite it not having any cream or sugar. Tim liked his coffee black and Curly thought it perfectly mirrored his personality. "Bueno.. Cus' me and Angie wanted to go see this new movie coming out. We thought you'd wanna tag along."

Curly had a smile growing on his face that made Tim frown. "Don't look at me like that, ese. Yes or no."

"I get it.. You want it to be like the olden days, huh?"

"Ha!" Tim said dryly. "I'm making sure you end this little 'vacation' on a good note. I'll let you take off from school for this week and that's that."

Curly hadn't tended to his studies the whole time he was away but he was confident in knowing that his math skills improved dramatically. He had always been good at math, but spending his time away dealing and being face to face with it made him feel like a mathematical genius.

"Ah, shit." Curly groaned as he stood up from his seat, dumping out the rest of his water in the sink. "I'm overjoyed." Curly replied sarcastically, which earned a pat on the back from Tim.

He moved his hand once they heard a loud heavy knock on the door. Curly checked his watch, it read 8 o clock. He was never able to get that much sleep anymore, especially with all the nightmares. But getting a guest this early was rare, no one came to the Shepard home unless it was after eleven.

"You expectin' anyone?" Tim questioned.

"Nah."

Curly walked to the front door and open it to four police officers. His heart dropped at the sight and the blood drained from his face.

"Charles Shepard, you're under arrest for possessing and trafficking narcotics." The officer told him.

He looked to Tim and he wondered if he had ever seen him so spooked before. He still had the familiar, composed attitude, but his eyes were wide as he looked at the scene. This wasn't the first time cops had came to the house and rounded him up but they both knew that it was serious this time. He wouldn't be surprised if they tried adding 20 years to his name, it had been a while since they got their satisfaction over the Shepard Gang, and based on the officers look, he could tell.

"No digas nada!" Tim shouted to him. "Vamos a manejarlo!"

Curly sighed and closed his eyes as the pulled him to the ground, pushing his face onto the floor he was sure hadn't been properly dusted in years. He felt disgusting. He felt worthless. He hissed when he felt a knee being pressed into his back, between his shoulder blades.

"Fuck off, ese!" Curly yelled out. "Bet this is the highlight of your day, huh? Finding a chicano to lock up you sick fuck!"

He knew his words would result in some form of violence, so he wasn't surprised to feel a kick to his ribs and an arm around his neck. He grimaced and held his eyes shut tight as he groaned through the pain. He could hear Angela screaming in the background, and through glimpses from his eyelids he could see Tim trying to hold her back.

"Tim! Make them stop!" She screeched.

But he wasn't able to focus on her. Instead, he could feel the weight in his back increase as the heavy cop leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "You fucking piece of shit. Look at you. I've been waiting to get my hands on one a' you fuckers."

"What a pathetic piece of scum." The officer said.

Curly gasped once the weight had been lifted off of him but he was quickly pulled to his feet and he was thankful his arm didn't break from the force. As they dragged him out the house, he saw Angela crying into Tim's arm and he felt guilty that it was because of him. Now everyone had to suffer because of his selfish actions.

He wondered how Daisy would react once she heard the news, he was sure she'd cry. As he sat in the back of the car, staring out the window with the sun shining on his face, ignoring all of his nosey neighbors trying to peer through their windows and blinds. He shook his head as the car pulled off with one thought on his mind...

He hoped to God he'd look good in orange.

Well guys, that's the end of Hoodlum Tragedies :(, thank god I'm not finished with Curly's story.  
This book will still continue to be edited but the second part is a book titled "Bloody End", this story will be more graphic in terms of violence, sexual situations, and language.

Thanks everyone for reading! Tell me what you thought about it!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, please review :) follow me @mocurlyshepard on tumblr  
> @momo_3 on wattpad  
> @Thatwasthen on Fanfiction.net


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